Criminal Case
by Winter.Maiden11
Summary: Keirah Silvers has a tragic childhood. But it didn't stop her in chasing her dreams and help people of Grimsborough. After taking Criminology course, She joined the Grimsborough Police Department and be a new partner to Inspector David Jones. Now their journey begins, setting out justice and stopping those criminals. Criminal Case is based on Facebook game.
1. The Death of Rosa Wolfe

**A/N: First of, The story line is not mine. If you know the facebook game or android game Criminal Case you'll be familiar with the story. Though I created and modified some dialogues based on the story. I really wanted to try writing a fanfic about this game, as I make a progress on the game, the cases became more interesting. If this game could only have a tv series I might watch it.. XD Well heres my first chapter. Tell me what you think. :D Enjoy reading.**

My name is Keirah Silvers. The day when I dreamed to set foot on the Grimsborough Police Force Headquarters finally started. I get to set on my first case together with Officer Jones. A month ago I was an intern and after several cases I've observed and some tasks that I've done to help out on those cases. The Chief reviewed my records and thanks to Jones for assisting me, Chief King finally gave me a chance to solve a case not just an intern but an Officer.

I just didn't like it when Jones called me up earlier this morning to head to the office as soon as possible. First thing I thought it was very important that he called early. But when I got to the office, rushing and I didn't even know how I looked like, not even noticing that my brunette waves was really a mess. I face Jones and waited for him to tell me what's happening.

He turned, brushing up his brown hair that was neatly spiked up on the front. He always wear up the smile on his face but his grin suddenly fade when he saw how messy I look.

"Oh golly. You must have come all the way here roughly." He said. Those blue orbs looked at me from head to toe and I blinked looking down on myself and turned towards the glass wall revealing my fainted reflection. Oh drat! I looked terrible. I don't have time to fix myself in mirror that time. My dark auburn waves became a disaster after a rush walks. I made a mistake forgetting it to tie. I quickly fix my hair and set my sleeves and blouse in place.

"Yes! As soon as you called, I quickly got up ready and head here. So, what's the emergency?" I said pursing my lips.

"Uhh. Yeah of course. I told as soon as possible right? I never thought you're gonna head here so quickly." He chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, because when you say ASAP, it means something important has to be done sooner." I furrowed. He laughed and seems a little awkward.

"What? Is there a problem on a previous case?" I asked eagerly waiting for his answer.

"Well, it's not about the case. It's about you." He smiled.

I shuddered. About me? "What? Something's wrong?" I suddenly getting nervous right now.  
"No. Something's getting right Keirah!" He laughed and I rolled my eyes.  
"Zip it Jones!" I glared.

"Okay! Okay!" He chuckled as he raised his hands. "Good news for you. Officer Silvers!" He looked at me straight to the eyes. For a second, I was trying to figured out what he just said then finally get in to my nerves back.

"Whaaaaaat?!" I squealed. "You mean?" And Jones nodded.

"Yep. Officer." He repeated again. I squealed and jumped like I won the lottery. While Jones were laughing at me. I'm not just an intern anymore! I'm an Officer now!

"So this is something you wanna tell me?" I suddenly stared back at him.

"Yeah, it seems you really are ready for everything. You'll have a good record for that." He teased.

"I thought it was an emergency! I never get to fix my hair and my face just to head here as fast as I can!" I explained. He laughed.

"Not funny Jones. That's the most ridiculous prank I've get." I glanced as he held out for his breath.

"Sorry! But I was surprised how you managed to head here in 30 minutes." He chuckled.

"I tried to deduct the things I should do to head here early, just for your great news Jones." I said bluntly. "You jerk. If this is not a good news I'm gonna push you out of the window right now." I smiled sarcastically.  
"Sorry. It was never my intention to do a prank on you, really." He said. "Welcome to the club Officer."  
"Thank you so much, Inspector Jones." I smiled and gave him a handshake before I leave his Office.

"Officer Keirah! We're called for investigation!" Jones poked his head on the door way.  
"Yeah, Officer Bard called seconds ago." I got up and joined Jones. This is it! My first case to solve. I feel nervous and excited at the same time.

Jones took over to drove the car. In a few minutes we arrived at the said site. At the entrance of the town, police officers enclosed the road.  
"What have we got here officer?" Jones asked.  
"A young girl, Sir. Looks like in early 20's..." As the officer told him about the details, I leaned down to see the corpse.

The girl was wearing a cheerleading uniform. Looking at it, that uniform was one of the best known University in Grimsborough. She has wavy blonde hair and a fringe bangs that parted at the middle. Her throat was slashed. I looked around to see if I could find some weapon. As the investigators takes a picture of her body. I wore my glove and started to searched the area. Not very far from where the victim's body is a bloody knife. The killer maybe was in panic that he left the evidence in here.  
"Jones!" I called.  
"Yeah. What have you found?" He said coming.  
"The evidence!" I said with a winning grin, as I sway the evidence bag to show it to him.  
"Great! Now let's take it to the crime lab to test." He said.  
The Officers took the victim's body to the ambulance and head out to test for autopsy. I take another look on the area before we leave and it seems nothing has to see here for now.

We head to the crime lab to test the knife. Grace the forensic lab director greeted us cheerfully. She has auburn hair that fell over her right shoulder, I like her green eyes and she had this necklace that has a ring as a pendant. I wonder who gave that ring? Shoving that thought aside I showed her the evidence. "Ah! A glympse of hope." She said taking about the evidence.  
"Officer Keirah found it. See, she's really good in this stuff." Jones commented.

"It's nothing." I chuckled. Grace smiled at me. "Welcome to the Force. I am looking forward to work with you more." She winked.

"Eventually we will, with gangs, drug dealers to murderers lurking around here, more crimes will be out there. It's not impossible." I joked. Grace smiled and excuse herself for a moment to head to her lab.

"The victim was Rosa Wolf, a college student of Grimsborough Academy." Jones noted as he handed me the documents.  
"Cheerleader of the said Academy?" I remarked scanning the documents.  
"Yeah. She had a good record and seems a good girl though. Who and why did someone killed her?" Jones said.  
Yeah why did someone like her?

"There you are!" Nathan the coroner of the Department came in. He wears a lab coat like on Grace's, he has a thick moustache and a bit of a beard on the chin, he wears red glasses. Nathan's the one who check out victim's body.  
"I studied the wound on the victim's neck, and I could tell that the killer was right handed." He said.  
"Right. It's rare to find a right-handed person." Jones said with sarcasm, and I elbowed him.  
"Thanks Nathan." I smiled.  
He nodded. "No prob. I'm gonna add this to your file."  
Jones phone suddenly beeped and excuse himself to answer the phone.  
"We should head back to the station. The chief needs us." Jones said.

This will be the first time I'm gonna see the Chief in person. He's been away when I was an intern and since everything were busy I never get the chance to meet him and it's always Jones who comes to his office usually.  
"Hi, so you're the new officer. I'm Samuel King. Chief Police Officer." Chief King got up from his seat and offered a handshake. He looks in mid 70's but still firm for his age.  
"Keirah... Keirah Silvers." I smiled.  
"I've called you here because there's a witness that told us that the killer wears a blue cap. "He said sitting back beside his desk.  
"Go back to the Town Entrance and inspect the area if there's some more evidence we can find." He stated and dismissed us.

We drove back to the Town Entrance after. As we're heading near by the area I noticed a passerby wearing black jacket and a blue cap. Remembering what Chief King said about the killer wearing a blue cap, but that's not enough evidence. Anyone could wear a blue cap in this city. We need to find more. A right-handed and a guy with a blue cap wasn't enough evidence to trace the killer. We finally arrived at the site. The road's still closed and the area were surrounded by yellow tapes. We carefully investigate the area. Jones decided to search in front of the abandoned wrecked house, while I searched on the backyard. The place was such a mess making it harder to find a clue here. If someone could take care of this place it could be more pleasant and safe. But why did someone abandoned such place.

I kept on searching until something caught my eye. I wasn't sure if it could be a clue but when I checked it, surprised seeing some bloody stain on it. Wasn't sure but it must a jersey shirt. I carefully picked up the pieces. Good thing to wear gloves but holding such thing still gives me the creep. It was torn in pieces, torn in purpose. I tried to find the other pieces and good thing I find it easily. Placed on the evidence bag and came back to Jones.  
"Jones! Found something!" I ran and handed the bag to Jones. "It looks a jersey torn in pieces."  
"Great! Maybe we can test it to the lab. Let's go." Jones and I got in the car and headed to the crime lab.

Staring at the torn shirt, it's hard to tell where to start. Grace already take the blood sample from the shirt. And Jones ask me if I could fix something on the shirt. I sighed. Okay I could solve a puzzle and I hope that this one's easy. I carefully arranged the pieces and placed it on the table to join every piece. Took me some minutes and finally I could see clearly what the shirt look like and yes, just as I thought it was a jersey. I called up Jones.  
"Well, nicely done, Keirah." He commented. "So this killer is a football player?" seeing the number 9 on the shirt. "This could be an easy lead to the killer." He added but then his phone rang, he immediately answered it.

"Chief King said he have an additional investigation. There was a suspicious guy roaming nearby the area of incident, it was said to be Ash Bison." Jones explained. I remember the time when we're heading to the area that guy who walks past the road. He really seems suspicious. Jones suddenly notice my quiet response.  
"Is there a problem?" He asked. I snapped out from my thoughts.  
"I... I remember as we drove back to the area." I furrowed. "I saw a guy passing near by that area. He also wears a blue cap and a jacket."

"A blue cap?" Jones rested his hand on his chin thinking. "He had a match on the killer."

"Yeah, but anyone can wear a blue cap. Besides he wears a jacket, I don't see him to be part of a football team either."  
"How can you be sure?"

"I carefully looked at him, though it's too far and we're moving. I barely see his face. I could tell his hair color is black and fell down to his shoulders. He somewhat looks like a thug."  
Jones called for a team to inspect the area secretly that, while I try to search for the record of Ash Bison and the mysterious player. If they're the same person then this is jackpot.  
I head to Alex' office down the lower ground of the lab. I needed his help on this.

"Hey Alex yo here?" I knocked on the half way opened door.  
"Yo!" Alex greeted. He was the youngest that worked here in the department. But he's good at tracking people. He has medium hair and always wear a headphone.  
"I need to find the report about Ash Bison. I hope you could track his records." I smiled.  
"Not a problem." He turned towards the screen and tapped the keyboard. "Bingo."  
I turned seeing Ash Bison's profile on the big screen. He is! He's the guy I saw a while ago. The hair and the cap matches. I noticed the tattoo on his neck and is somewhat familiar. Wait?! That tattoo!  
"Does he belonged to the Vipers?" I asked Alex.  
"I bet. With that tattoo he might be one." He said as I gritted. Those Vipers! If they're the ones who did this murder then I won't really mind hunting them down sooner. I really want to eliminate those thugs! I let out a huge sigh.  
I took out my tablet and ask Alex to send me Ash's profile. It doesn't say that he joined a football team. There was no record about him on Grimsborough Academy.  
"Keirah!" Jones called. "We have to get back to the station. "The officers I've sent got Ash Bison. We have to talk to him."  
"Right!" Without any further, I quickly packed up. "Thanks Alex!" I said as I leave.

At the station. Ash Bison was being interrogated. Seeing him in this close, I could really tell he's the guy from a while ago. He gave us a sharp glare.  
"Ash Bison, do you know this girl?" Jones held out a picture of Rosa.  
"To hell I care? I don't even see her." Ash spatted out.  
"You better answer this honestly!" Jones hissed.  
"She was found dead in the town entrance. No one walks past that road for a long time and you're the only one who found roaming around that area." I said.  
"What are you doing there?" Jones asked.  
"I stayed there sometimes to find a place to sleep. Even to that wrecked house! But I don't kill that Rosa you're saying!" He frowned.  
"What a coincident that a place you're staying became the murder incident."  
"I don't care if that place is a murder wreckage or what ominous vibe whatever it has. But all I need is a place to stay for a night!" I could see in Ash's eyes that he was telling the truth but I'm not a psychic to predict if he is really telling the truth. My phone beeped and checked it. I excuse myself for a bit and answer it.  
"Grace, what you got there?"  
"I found out that the blood sample on the knife and on the shirt were matched. So maybe the killer is wearing that shirt that time." she said on the line.  
"Great. Now we have a few answer. Thanks Grace."  
I head back to the room finding Jones and Ash arguing.  
"Hey guys stop it!" I yelled. Tapping Jone's shoulder, he really is pissed on Ash.  
"Listen, Ash. As long this case is on going we gonna keep an eye on you!" Jones pointed and walks out the room.  
"Be my guest." Ash teases. I gave him a sharp glare and head out of the room giving the officers some instruction on what to do with Ash while this case is still going.

I catch up with Jones who's still fuming. "Hey Jones. Grace called and found out that the blood sample on the shirt and knife was matched."  
"That is a good news." He said, slowly his mood changes a bit.  
"So meaning, Ash Bison might be telling the truth that he didn't kill Rosa."  
"Yeah, that's ridiculous."  
"I know. That's why we need to investigate more." I stopped.  
"Wait." I remember something.  
"What?" Jones furrowed.  
I took out the tablet and searched for the files regarding the Grimsborough Academy.  
I found the football team of the said Academy. Finding out that the player with the number 9 jersey is Matt Barry.  
"The killer might be wearing a uniform when he killed Rosa." I muttered.  
"So it might be." Jones continued.  
We scrolled down to look at Matt's profile. "He seems like a good kid." I raised my brows. "Looks can be deceiving kiddo." Jones answered.  
But the blue cap, and the jersey. It matches the killer's profile.

The next day we head immediately to Matt Barry's residence. A woman in her mid 50's answered the door. It might be Matt's mother.  
"Ma'am I'm Jones and this is Silvers of Grimsborough Police District." Jones held out his badge. "We need to talk to Matt Barry." Jones said casually.  
"Oh my. What happened? What did Matt do?" The woman looks terrified. But still, she offered us to come in. "I'm Matt's mom. He's in his room preparing to go to his practice game." His mom said politely. "You want something? Like water or coffee?"  
"No, ma'am we're okay. Don't worry about us." Jones smiled.  
"I just gonna call Matt." She said, stuttered but she managed to give us a smile.  
His mother seems to be a good woman. We looked at the framed pictures on the walls. Photos of Matt and his parents. They're seemed to be a happy family. Beside was a cabinet with some of the trophies that Matt gained playing football. I think he really loves football. I don't see it why someone like Matt will do such thing to Rosa.  
"Now that I see Matt, I can't believe he would do that." I whispered, playing the football I found on the couch.  
"Behind an angelic smile is a devil's heart. I thought of it also when I solve my first few cases." Jones said.  
We turn as we heard footsteps from upstairs. "Sorry to keep you wait." Mrs. Barry said.  
"Matt?" she called as the young man followed.  
"What is it?" Matt looks confused. "I need to go for a practice game."  
"Matt really is a persistent player." I smiled.  
"Yes, Matt never skipped a practice." His mother added nervously.  
I smiled to Matt and passed him the ball. He caught it with his right hand.  
"We're afraid you have to cancel your practice Mr. Barry. We need you to talk about something." Jones said. "Wait? What?" Matt protested "I can't cancel the practice!"  
"Rosa is found dead at the Town Entrance yesterday morning." I added.  
At the said lines, Matt began to look pale. "What?" He looks more confused. His mother was terrified. "Rosa." she stuttered.  
"Do you know Rosa Wolf?" Jones asked.  
"Matt and Rosa were together since first year." His mom answered.  
"We broke up last month!" Matt said. Her mom was shocked. "She broke up with me! She said it never worked between us! She always points out my flaws. I tried to become a better guy for her but she didn't see that! I hate her!  
I could see hatred in his eyes. The face I never thought I would saw to Matt Barry. Jones looked down, remembering something. His eyes look so sad.  
"Matt! Did you..." His mom was supposed to ask him but he cut it. He glared at her.  
"I have to." his mom was horrified and fell down to her knees.  
"Matt, sometimes there are things that we really wanted, but we can't have it." I said. "If you're trying to be a better guy for her. Then you wouldn't do something like this in the first place." He looked down.  
Matt surrendered himself in. He held out his hands and we placed cuffs bringing him in.  
The last words that I heard from his mom were "Why have you become like that Matt?" She couldn't believe her beloved son will do such crime.

"You did well on this case." Chief King commented. "But I'd like you to investigate Ash Bison." He added. We nodded in response.  
"I know you knew he was a member of the biggest gang in town, the Vipers."  
I clenched my fist hearing that name. That name made my past miserable.  
"Interrogate him and see what any additional info you get on that group." Chief King ordered and dismissed us.

"I really hate interrogating that guy." Jones complained. "Nyways, we done great on Rosa's case Keirah?"  
"Keirah?" He called. He noticed I wasn't paying attention to what he said.  
"Yeah?" I turned.  
"You don't look so good." His was worried. "It's about the Vipers, isn't it?"  
Jones was aware about my past, well, a little bit. I told him once about the Vipers. They're involved on the accident of my parents. That night when Mom and Dad was heading home. Dad was driving the car, while Mom sings at the passenger seat. Dad really loves it when she's humming while he drives. But they never thought it would be their last night together. The car that was crossing by was the car where the group of Vipers are on board. It drove so fast and hit my parent's car. Dad tried to avoid the car, but sadly their car swung and collides on the street post that it fell on their car. Shortly, police cars were coming. The Vipers however, escaped, despite the collision they took. The damage wasn't critical. Some of the cars also collided but the Vipers ran away. The police didn't catch the men, they stopped and help out Mom and Dad, but it's too late. They're dead.  
How do I know that it was the Vipers? The witnesses said that the windows were open and the driver had a tattoo on his arm same as on Ash Bison. Everybody knows about the Vipers. They said that the men on the car looked drunk.  
I was in high school back then. We wait for our parents to come home but instead, the police sent us the bad news. I couldn't forget the day when I saw my Mom and Dad dead on the hospital. My sister was beside me. She was 10 yrs. old then. The police told me what happened. Since then, every time I heard of the Vipers. My blood boils. I wanted to stop them.  
Jones tapped my shoulder. "Hey. Everything's gonna be okay. As long as we work together we'll make sure to stop the Vipers." I nodded.  
"Now let's go have something to eat." He smiled.

On the day of Interrogation, Ash doesn't really want to cooperate.  
"You mind telling us about your gang?" Jones crossed his arms.  
"I've got nothing tell you." He smirked which made me feel more irritated.  
"Well then, Keirah and I will find out some evidence back on the roadside, if you're not gonna talk, the evidence will talk for you." Jones said.  
Ash snorted. "Yeah? Then go to the roadside, see if I care... If you two have time to lose, it's not my problem!"  
That's it, I had enough of this guy. I can't help but slammed the table that even Jones winced.  
"Listen up jerk! Whether you talk or not, you're still gonna be in jail! We're gonna find out about this gang of yours and eventually, they'll be joining you in jail!" I hissed.  
"Woah, you have some guts there buttercup." Ash glanced.  
"We better work it out Kei." Jones said as we leave the room.

We came back to the roadside eager to find a clue. We're sure of it. On the shaggy bushes I found a gun along with the trashes.  
"Jones! Found the clue!" I called.  
"Great! Now let's get the fingerprint and see if it matches to Ash." Jones said.

We head to the crime lab and after I get the fingerprints. I asked Alex to checked the matches.

"Hey guys! The fingerprints you collected on the gun are a match with Ash Bison." Alex reported.  
"That's it! I'm sure the idiot doesn't have a gun license. How much do you want to bet he'll talk now, Kei?" Jones chuckled.  
"Nah. Not sure if that jerk's gonna talk anyway." I said bluntly.  
"You really are sure of it. Thanks Alex." Jones said and we head back to the station.

"We've got your gun, and your prints. In case you're too dumb to realize it, this isn't good." Jones made a sharp glare at Ash. "Now give us something good about the Vipers."  
"Ok you got me." Ash chuckled waving his hands. Jones looked at me like he won the bet but I answered it with a shrug.  
"We've changed leaders recently. The new guy's name is... Keath Myass!" Ash answered. I furrowed for moment thinking something's not right. Keith Myass?  
Jones enlightened "Great! Keirah, let's go talk to this Keath... Keath My..." and suddenly realized Ash is playing with him. "Oh you little... That's it! Officer Keirah Silvers, put this jerk behind bars!" He ordered while Ash is dying out laughing. I try not let out a snort. I hate this guy but that joke is a winner.  
"Yes Sir!" I said taking out Ash who's still laughing.

"That's the most hilarious thing happened in interrogation." I chuckled as we head to his office.  
"Yeah right." Jones said frowning.  
"Aww he got you there though!" I teased.  
"Oh now it's your turn to laugh at me huh." He smirked.  
"I'll take that as a revenge for the prank you did." I laughed.  
"Really now. So Ash took the revenge for you." he chuckled as we entered the office.  
"I say I have to thank Ash for that, but I still hate him. He's good to be in jail." I said handing the reports to Jones.  
"We'll still have more work to do for this Vipers." Jones remarked.  
"Well done. I guess we need to work it on our own." He said.  
"We can do it." I smiled.

 **A/N: Sorry I have to edit this chapter. Other than that, next chapters will be up soon. :D Safety and peace...**


	2. Corpse in the Garden

**A/N: Here's the second chapter of fic. Sorry I never wrote a title for chapter 1. Nyways. Thanks for sticking by. Please. Bare with me. :D**  
 **Enjoy reading.**

Corpse in the Garden.

The loud tapping noise echoed in my desk as my fingers tapped the keyboard. I am determined to get information about the Vipers. The light on the screen illuminated in my eyes. I've searched some of their past records that may lead to track them down.  
"Hey Kei? You might want some of these!" Jones placed a small paper bag and a cup on the table. Smelling the aroma of a hot dark choco, I took it. "Wow. Thanks!" I said taking a sip. I look over the bag and chuckled how Jones knew about one of my favorite food. Doughnuts! That didn't surprise me, he complained on how I was obsessed with Doughnuts. There was never a week that I didn't eat a doughnut.  
"Speaking of... I was craving for this the whole time!" I grinned.  
"You always crave for it." He said as I took a bite on it.  
"Sir! There's been a call from a man named Simmons. A part of a body was found in the garden." An officer called. "Here's the address Sir." He handed a paper to Jones. Right timing, I just finished my snack hearing this news.  
"Okay, we'll gonna be there asap. Send me also some team." The officer nodded in response to Jones' order.  
"You're ready Kei?" He turned. I nodded.  
"Yeah, Good thing I just finished my snack." I got up and wear my jacket.

I ask Jones to let me drive the car this time. We arrived at said site and a man came rushing as we get off the car. He wore a light gray office suit, he looks in mid 40's. He's fidgety but he greeted us with a smile, I can't help but notice his missing a tooth.  
"I'm Dave Simmons, I called the police when I found a bloody hand on the window." He pointed nervously to the window of the house.  
The house is a bit old. Seems it was abandoned for a long time.  
"Thanks Mr. Simmons. Just stick around while we investigate the place." Jones said. The officers started to place a yellow line around the house as we entered the garden. Jones handed some gloves and wore it. The place was a disaster, junks and trashes were all over the place. I proceeded to walk to the window were we could see a hand slumped over the window sill. The place has this stench smell, maybe coming from the trashes and adding this bloody hand.  
"I think... I'm gonna throw up." I said joking.  
"Maybe I made a mistake offering you a snack earlier." Jones said, wearing a disgusted look staring at the hand. "Your time to shine officer." He gestured.  
I raised my brow while I kept my nose covered by my sleeve. "Seriously?"  
"Well, it's your case after all." He grinned.  
"Jerk." I rolled my eyes as I carefully placed the hand at the evidence bag. It gives the creep. "Arrgh"

"Sir, there was a body inside the bathroom." One of the officer called.  
"Okay. Let's check it out Keirah." Jones and I carefully inspected the inside. Like outside, it was messy. The floor was made of wood that it made a squeaky noise as we walk by. Careful not to break it. We reached the bathroom, greeted by the foul smell which obviously came from the body that we found. A male, maybe in 60's, was left dead on a tub. His hand was cut and obviously, it's the one we found on the window. Jones knelt to check the victim. Then the officers came in with a body bag.  
"You mind lifting this?" Jones smirked. It's my first time to place a corpse and a part of a victim's body on the bag. When I was an intern, my only job was to check up the victim and trace a fingerprints. "My pleasure." I sighed.  
We carefully placed the body on the bag and zip it. The officers took the body to the ambulance while we searched for a weapon inside. Jones found clothes near the tub. He found an ID under it.  
"His name was Ned Dillard." He said as he bent down to look at the ID.  
"A mortgage broker." I seconded. I looked at the tub as he scanned the ID.  
"Jones. Look, isn't it weird finding a flammable liquid here in bathroom?" I said picking up the bottle.  
"You're right about that. We should take a better look at these." He added placing it in the bags.  
"I think I found the murder weapon Jones." He turned as I picked up the bloody saw.  
"Undoubtedly, it is!" He grinned.  
"I think we couldn't find more in this stuff." Jones said. We already found enough evidence. "Guess we should send these to the lab for a test." He said and I nodded, following him.

"Nice to see you again Keirah." Nathan greeted. "Okay, I'll go straight to business, the hand you found in the garden matches the body you found in the bathtub."  
I blinked and Jones and I looked at each other. "Thanks for pointing out the obvious. Nate." Jones snorted. I shook my head slowly, felt embarrassed for Jones, teasing Nathan. I could see Nathan raising his brow. "Apart from that, I've only got one certainty, only a man, of a very strong build, would have been able to get rid of that body by cutting it with a saw." Nathan added.  
"I'm dying to ask you how a woman would have disposed of the body." Jones said. I chuckled trying not to let out a laugh but Nathan seeing me gave me a smile. He really doesn't seem affected on Jones' jokes. "Okay, Kei, we've got no time. Our killer is a man, which is all that matters! Thanks Nate!" Jones added.  
"My pleasure." Nathan said and leave the lab. We proceed to examine the flammable liquid bottle. "Selling a flammable chemicals is under strict tracking laws. Keirah can you track down the bar code?" Jones said.  
It took me just few minutes to track the code, thanks to Alex' gadget that made my job easy. "Here you go." I said giving the code to Jones. "Good job Kei! Now we can determine where this bottle was purchased. Let's see..." He read it. "It's from a mini-market nearby! I know the owner of that place, his name is Joe Stern. Let's go talk to him."

"Nice to see you again Joe!" Jones greeted as we entered the mini market. It was more like convience store, small yet, many items to buy.  
"Well if it wasn't the crazed Jones." Joe looked at me and made a crooked smile. He wears a blue shirt. He was so tall of maybe about 6ft. He has dark brown hair and his eyes were black. I looked at the badge he's wearing. He's a manager of the said store. "Ahh. I see you've got a partner now. It's been a long time since you worked on your own Jones."  
"This is Keirah Silvers." Jones said and I gave him a casual smile. "You must be so valuable, lass." Joe teased.  
"Ok Joe, stop sweet-talking, we're here to ask you something." Jones cut it. Thanks to Jones, I'm feeling a bit awkward on Joe. "Looks familiar?" Jones held out the bottle.  
"Yes, this bottle comes from my shop, so what?" Joe retorted.  
"Listen Joe, we need to know who bought this bottle. They've committed a murder!" Jones leaned on the glass shelf.  
"Look, buddy, you don't seriously think I keep track of my customers, do you? Dozens of people come here every day!" Joe said bluntly.  
"Alright. I guess Keirah and I should have a look at your shop. Just in case there are other things you don't keep track of!" Jones said.  
Jones carefully inspect the shelves near the entrance while I'm on the other side near the storage entrance. I couldn't find anything. I let out a sight of disappointment. "Found anything?" I called to Jones. "Sadly. Nothing's to be found here." He said. I turn around to take a last look. I notice a trash bag on the corner beside the storage room. "Jones I think we gotta check out on that." I said as I picked up the trash bag.  
"You find that suspicious things always end up in the trash eh?" He smiled and I nodded. "Let's have a look at this trash bag!"  
We head outside the back door near the trash bins and began to inspect the inside of the bag. As I untie the bag, we both flinched back on the smell that stared at us. I wave my hands vigorously to let out some of the stench. Jones flipped the bag, spreading the various kind of trashes. "Uggh. It's like searching for a needle in a desert!" I complained, staring at the mess."  
"At least this is not a desert." Jones answered. We started to dig unto the trash hoping this time our effort won't be wasted. We found some receipt and decided to scan the name of the purchases we found.  
"Looks like you're having a hard time on 'em." Joe approaches.  
"Well, we enjoyed it, until you came." Jones said sarcastically.  
"Heh! I bet."  
"Guys I think I found the answer!" I said with a winning grinning! They both looked at me. "Jones! look! it records the purchase of a bottle of flammable liquid..."  
"And a saw, just like the one we found in the bathroom.." Jones said enlightened.  
"Bathroom? You both went into the bathroom?" Joe stared at us, wearing those freaky smile on his face. Does he meant it? I felt my cheeks blushing for a while.  
"It's the murder scene where we found the murder weapon and the victim, you idiot!" Jones said blushing.  
"I was just joking!" Joe shrugged. "You're too serious!"  
"Well, if you excuse us. We have some investigating to do first." Jones said as we got up.  
"Hey Jones. There's also a purchase of bandages recorded." Jones turned and see the receipt. "Really?" What for?" He wondered.  
"I don't know, for some scratches maybe?" I said.  
"Maybe you're right. Which means we're looking for someone wearing a bandage!" He remarked. "Now let's go and examine the evidences we found!"

Jones and I stared blankly at the evidence that laid flatly on the lab table. The saw was already examined by Grace earlier and gave the results to Nathan which matches the Victim's blood. But we still have to find more evidence that could lead to the killer. I tried to examine the clothes if there'll be something left from the killer. Grace didn't saw a blood that matched on killer. Meaning the killer wasn't wounded that seriously.  
I snapped out as I felt something tiny and rounded inside the clothes, and picked it up. "Jones look!" I held out something that looks like a golden tooth. But it is a golden tooth!  
"Good job Keirah! I'm sure this gold tooth will help us move forward. We'd better send it to Grace for analysis."

"Hi Keirah!" Grace greeted as she entered the room. "The tooth that you found in the victim's clothes. it turns out, that it matches the bite marks on the bottle you found in the same place!"  
"The killer must have tried to open the cap with their teeth, and lost this tooth in the process!"  
"Thanks Grace! Either that's a really strong cap or our killer's got lousy teeth! In any case, Officer Keirah, let's go look for someone with a missing tooth!" Jones remarked.  
"Now that reminds me of someone." I said wondering. "Remember Dave Simmons?"  
"Now that you mention it." He thought.  
"He's missing a tooth!" We said in unison!  
"Now this witness is now a suspect, thanks to you!" He smiled. Now we head immediately to talk to Dave Simmons.

"Nice to see you again Officers!" He greeted us. Yep, with that smile, we could tell he was missing a tooth.  
"Good day Mr. Dave!" Jones said. "I was wondering, you know that smile could be more wonderful, if only you don't have a missing tooth!"  
"Ah... I lost my tooth when I was young." Dave blushed.  
"Oh is it? We just wanted to ask you anyway. What business you have there in abandoned house?" Jones asked.  
"I have nothing else to say about this sordid affair, except that I was there to sell the house. That's how I found the hand."  
"And if you were to sell it. Then you know who this house belongs to?" I asked.  
"Of course! That property belongs to Mr Marconi and has been derelict for years now. He'd be much better off without it..."  
"Did you say Marconi?!" Jones cut. I glanced up to him, confused. "Come on Keirah! This is getting big! We have to report to Chief King now."  
"Wait. Who's Marconi?" I asked Jones while we're heading back to the station. "Marconi is a gangster involved in all sorts of shady business." He answered. "He was one of the people, someone shouldn't be messing on."

"So Tony Marconi is somehow involved in this murder investigation?" Samuel King noted. "We haven't been able to pin anything on him so far..."  
"He's a clever guy." Jones remarked.  
"But if Marconi's got something to do with this murder, this could be our chance to put him behind bars! Go talk to him straight away!" Samuel dismissed.

"So you tried everything to seize Marconi?" I asked. "He was too careful. We can't find a way to pin him down." Jones answered.  
"But you already know he was doing some illegal businesses."  
"Yeah, but there wasn't enough proof."  
"Drat! He has to be behind bars for life!" I muttered.

Jones maneuvered the car to park, near a Night club that signed Blue Flamingo. The sign has blue lights flickering around it.  
We approached a huge man standing at the entrance. "Good evening, we would like to talk to your Manager regarding on important matter." Jones greeted. The guy though eyed him, crossing his arms. "He doesn't want visitors for today." He said sternly.  
Jones furrowed. "Well he will, if he'll know that his visitors are from Grimsborough PD." he said bluntly. But the guy didn't move.  
I step forward, giving the guy a casual smile. "It is really a very important matter, and it could affect your boss' business if we didn't talk about it soon." I said. The guy blinked for a moment. "Will you, please?" I smiled. He step aside, letting us in. "Thank you very much. We owe you." I said. Jones turned his head back for a moment. "How'd you do that? That guy is as hard as stone." He snorted as we go through the crowd. "Just a bit of a courtesy and a casual smile. I tell you, it works all the time." I smirked and he rolled his eyes.

We found Marconi laughing in triumph on one of the tables in casino. He must have been having a good game. "He really think he could do what he wants." Jones groaned. Marconi wears a grey suit with a white polo underneath. He also wears a gold chain around his neck. His phone rang and answered it, after a bit, he casually excuse himself and leave the game. As we approached him, I could tell he has a bandage on his neck. His faced changes as he noticed us coming. Glaring those brown eyes at us. "What are you doing here?" He said with disgust.  
"We need to talk Tony!" Jones said in a serious tone.  
"Now is not the time. I've more important things to do." He said.  
"It's about Ned Dillard." I called. Marconi stopped for a moment. "You must have knew him?"  
He stared at me for a moment. "Ah. You have another partner to get killed of, Jones?" He smirk. Jones clenched his fist.  
"She was asking you a question you..." I patted his shoulder, knowing his in a rage.  
"Heh! Ned Dillard? Never heard of him. Is that all? I'm a very busy man, you know." Marconi said with a tone of annoyance.  
"I'd watch my tone if I were you. Ned's corpse was found into one of your properties..."  
"Tragic for sure, but unless you've got proof I was there, I don't see how it concerns me. Now if you'll excuse me, I really have no time for such trivial matters." Marconi smiled sarcastically and excuse himself.  
"That guy! There really comes a day he'll gonna get rotten on the jail!" Jones groaned walking towards the car. "Hey easy there. I know how much you hate Marconi. Just chill it okay. We'll catch him eventually." I said catching up on his steps.  
"You're right. At least we've made headway on our investigation into Ned Dillard's murder, but we still have a lot of questions to answer." He said. "At least thanks to you we now know that Ned's killer is missing a tooth, and that he's wearing a bandage! And we also know that Tony Marconi, the most crooked man in all of Grimsborough, is somehow involved in this. But we'll need to find proof if we want to pin this on him!"  
"I hate him too." I smiled as we get in the car.  
Jones chuckled. "I agree, it's high time we report back to Chief King."

"So, How is the Ned Dillard case going? Have you found who killed him?" Chief Samuel tapped his pen slowly.  
"Not yet, no, but thanks to Keirah, we already have three pieces of evidence against the killer! We know it's a man, that he's lost a tooth... And we also found out he's wearing a bandage!" Jones explained quietly.  
"Good job, that's quite a list! Do you know what you're going to do next?" He glanced at us.  
I looked at Jones. "Um... Well... We're going to..." He said.  
"You're going to do the only thing you CAN do! Go back to those crime scenes and find something to push this case forward!" We flinched at the said order. We kindly excuse ourselves and get to our work immediately.  
"Is something wrong that's why Chief King got angry?" I asked. "Well he's like that. Eventually you'll get used to him." He chuckled.

It's getting dark, yet we still proceed to our work. We head back to house and hoping we could find another clue.  
"So we expect to find something in this dark and spooky place." I said staring at the abandoned house.  
Jones sighed. " Yep." We picked out our flashlight and wore gloves. We entered the house carefully. Even with a flashlight, it's hard to see the path that we're walking, in addition of that, the floor was flimsy that I have to take a slow step forward. And as expected, I stepped on one of the breakable spot and my foot caught on the hole. I squeaked, Fortunately, Jones grabbed me quickly behind before I directly fall off.  
"Are you okay?" He asked lifting me up carefully.  
"I think so. I'm still in one shape though." I said, but I groaned when I felt a pain around my leg. "I think I bruised it a bit." Jones helped me got up. "You could stay here, if you want..."  
"No! I'm okay! It's not that serious." I smiled and tried to stand up straight.  
"You sure?" He asked, worried. "Yep." I grinned. We proceed to enter the bathroom. It's really darker here. I really hoped we could find something here. I searched near the tub while Jones on the sink. Good thing this bathroom wasn't too big. The floor tile looked a bit crimson, making it more darker and harder to search. Soon, I found something glinting under the tub when I pointed the flashlight. I reached for it and find it was a tie clip.  
"Jones!" I smirked as I held out the clip.  
"Great! How did it end up in such a dirty bathroom?" He pursed his lips.  
"Better check it out." I said.  
"You're right. Let's go and give it a test!"  
As we head outside the junkyard. I accidentally stepped on a pile of leaves and slipped-down. Nice, first the wooden floor, now the pile of leaves, what could be worse? Embarassed. I got up shaking my head in dismay. "Tsk."  
"Looks like you scored a lot of clumsiness today." Jones chuckled as he helped me stand up.  
"You bet." I said kicking off the leaves. shoving off the dirt and the trash that stuck to my boots and pants. Another thing caught my eye, it was a business card and Ned's name was in there. "Jones, Ned's name is in this business card." He take a closer look as he pointed the light. "Call Maria." He read at the back of the card. "There's a phone number in it."  
"It's hard to read, it got wiped off."  
"Let's see if we could decipher it. Seems your clumsiness takes a good catch after all." He laughs and I rolled my eyes.

We head back to crime lab, to trace the fingerprints. I'm used to this kind of stuff so this is just easy for me. We took the fingerprints to Grace for a test. Then I started to decipher the phone number on the business card then handed it to Alex to track down.

"Great! Now those fingerprints and phone number may be the answer for our problem." Jones said. We wait for Grace to analyze the fingerprints. "Hey, is your foot alright?" He asked looking down at my feet. "Yep. I think I'm gonna get some bruises but it's okay. Good thing of wearing boots." I chuckled.

"Uhhm. Jones, What did Marconi mean about what he said to you earlier? About your partner?" I could see Jones' smile faded as I asked the question. I bit my lip regretting what I've said. Blast it! I shouldn't be asking such things. I knew about Jones giving up to work with a partner, but Chief King insisted that he must have to.  
"I had this partner that died two years ago." Jones finally said. "James Hudson. He has sacrifice his self to save us." His eyes saddened.  
"I'm sorry." I said.  
"If I didn't insist to push on that investigation, maybe he'll still be here." He said with regret.  
"It's not your fault. You only have to do what was right. I think, if he was in your place. he'll also do it. No one knows what could happened. So don't take all the responsibilities to yourself."  
He let out a smile yet I could tell his eyes were sorrowful.  
"He's my best friend." He said.  
I patted his shoulder. "Sometimes we do regret the choices we've made. But all we can do is, to continue the things we believed, the things that is right... You said he sacrificed himself to save you, it's his choice and he never regret it. That's what we do, to protect the people we love."  
"You know, those words could make me cry right now." He said smiling.  
"If Marconi's words would happen, I won't forgive myself." He added.  
"It won't happen. Marconi just wanted to pissed you."  
"I don't want to let the same thing happen to you, Keirah." He looked down. I was surprise hearing that, he said it seriously.  
"Don't worry it won't." I said. I either won't let the same thing happen to you too, Jones. I flushed.

We snapped out from our drama as we heard a knock on the door.  
"The fingerprints from that tie clip you found on the crime scene didn't match any in our files, but..." Grace said coming in. "they were a perfect match with the prints present on the murder weapon!" We just smiled, no words. Grace stared at us for a moment. "Something's wrong?" She looked at us.  
"Ah! No! Everything's right!" I chuckled and take the report. "So this tie clip belongs to our killer."  
"Yes, that means, your killer might be wearing a tie!" She grinned.  
"Thanks Grace." I smiled and we head to Alex' office.

"Found anything Alex?" I asked.  
"You're just in time guys." He smirked. "The owner of this phone number you found is called Maria Sanchez. She's a housemaid, so I guess she was working for your victim."  
"Wonderful. Alex' you really are a monster when it comes to tracking down people. Well, I say it in a good way." I chuckled. "I wish I could track down people as fast as you can Alex' you should teach me sometimes." I grinned.  
"Thanks. Well, you can call me the Digital God if you want to. Sounds cool eh!" He laughed.  
"Well, Alex is a master techie here, and yes, he IS good, although maybe not THAT good." Jones finally joked.  
"Cmon man, don't spoil it." Alex waved his hands.  
"No worries Alex, you'll still have the title." I said.  
"Thanks anyway."

"Ned Dillard's dead? Ha! So there is some justice, after all!" Maria scowled. Her hair was a bit disheveled in an up bun. I also notice her bandage on the left side of her forehead.  
"Is that so? Why did the victim have your phone number, Ms Sanchez?" Jones asked.  
She glanced. "Because I'm his maid. Or rather, I was. He fired me two days ago!" She added in dismay.  
"Seems you have so much grudge on him." Jones noted.  
"Why not? He treated me inconsiderately." She gritted her teeth.  
"You know, your behaviour gives you a very good motive for murder..."  
"Think what you will. But if I were you, I'd go have a little chat with Dennis Brown. He's a bodyguard, and he'd just offered his services to Mr Dillard!" She cut.  
"That would be noted! Well, thanks Ma'am." Jones bid.

"We should go and try to talk to this Dennis Brown that she was saying." Jones said as we head to the car. As soon as we entered the car, I picked up the tablet and search for Dennis Brown's profile on data base.  
"Ha! Seems the woman wasn't lying after all. Dennis Brown indeed is the body guard of Ned Dillard." I said. "He doesn't look what I expected." Jones raised a brow in a question. "Here. He seems to look older for a body guard." I showed the profile to Jones. "Ha! Okay, lets see what we could procure to this guy." He said starting the car engine.

"Mr Dennis Brown. Someone told us you offered your bodyguard services to Ned Dillard shortly before his death. Is that true?" Jones asked as soon as we faced Dennis. He looked a bit different on the profile. Coz the bandage on his left cheekbone was added, and that missing tooth! Jones though noticed it too.  
"Sure. Ned Dillard was a crook. His schemes put a lot of honest people out in the streets with no money left to their names. The guy obviously needed protection!" Dennis blurted.  
"I see you're missing a tooth. Did you lose it on the job?" I smirked when Jones asked it.  
"Uh, yeah. It's a rough job, sometimes you get on the wrong end of the fight." He answered.  
"Look, about Ned... I didn't kill him. But I've got a list of people who might have, all the people who got their houses taken because of him!" he added.  
"Can we see the list?" Jones asked.  
"I tore it up, since the guy's dead, I didn't think I'd need that list no more. You can probably still put it back together, though." Dennis held out a crumpled and torn papers from the bin. "Here."  
I held out my hand to take the papers carefully not to missed a sheet.  
"Thank you Mr. Brown." Jones smiled as we leave the guy.

"How do we start?" We stared at the bits and pieces of papers. Jones shrugged. I yawned, I looked at my watch and it's already 9pm. "I guess it's time to go home." Jones chuckled.  
"No, I'm fine, let's do this." I insist. "You sure? You must need a rest sometimes." He furrowed.  
"Yeah, so how do we do this." I turned back to the papers.  
"I guess, it's like solving a puzzle." He said and started to pick up one piece and placed another.  
"Just a bit tricky." I pursed my lips, following him. We tried to put the pieces back together until we finally could read the list.  
"Great job we done here Keira!" Jones suppressed a triumphant smile and gave me a fist bump. "Indeed!" I chuckled.  
"Now let's see who these people might be." We peered on the list closer and read the names.  
"Jones!" I said loftily and Jones also noticed one of the names.  
"Joe Stern's name on the list! Which means Ned Dillard duped him, too!" He said.  
"Yeah." I said.  
"Okay, let's work this out first thing in the morning." Jones said.  
"What do you say we go back to Joe's mini-market tomorrow? I think some thorough shelf-searching is in order!" He added and I nodded with agreement.

And yes, first thing we did is to bust in Joe's market. "Oh it's you again. What sort of business that you want now?" Joe said coldly as we approached him on the counter.  
"Why didn't you tell us your property got seized because of Ned Dillard, Joe?!" Jones asked.  
"And so what? I'm not the only one that jerk got to!" Joe defended.  
"Maybe, but now that Ned's dead, it makes you a suspect! Step aside, we need to have another look at your shop."  
As we head through the shelves to start the inspection, Jones suddenly stopped making me stumbled on his back. Ouch!  
"Hey Jones what's the matter?" I peered tip toed, rubbing my head.  
"That's it!" He stared at the surveillance cam on the corner of the store. I followed his gaze. Surveillance camera? My eyes widened at a sudden thought. "Right!" I smiled.  
"That could might be the evidence!" He pointed.  
"We could track down who bought the items on the recorded vid!" I said.  
"Yes! Maybe we could determine who it was!"

"Mr Stern, we'll be taking your surveillance camera for analysis." Jones came back to Joe.  
"First the trash, now the camera... You really don't have anything better to do?" Joe said.  
"If I were you I'd just shut up, Joe. We know exactly what we're doing." He said seriously. "Now let's go see what Alex can make of the recordings on this camera!" He called.

"It sounds like you're on the way to end the case guys." Alex said grinning as he playback the video. We looked at the time of purchase from the receipt and played it fast forward.  
"Gotcha!" Alex said clicking the pause button. We take a closer look on the screen. The guy who bought these items seems familiar. We couldn't determine the face coz he's facing his back at the camera.  
"Can you zoom it in a bit?" Jones requested.  
"Take a look at this guys..." Alex pointed out the shelf next to the guy. "We couldn't tell the face of this guy but maybe we could find out by his height." He added.  
"You're right." I seconded.  
"Looking at it, he may be 6ft tall." Alex noted.  
"6ft tall? Got it! Keirah lets check out all the matches and compared it to our suspects." Jones said. "Thanks Alex."

I compared the lists and found out that the one matches all the evidence was... Dennis Brown. "Jones, I think I know the killer."  
"Great, who you got?"  
"Dennis Brown, all the evidence matches and leads to him."  
"Right! Now let's go and get this guy!"

"Dennis Brown, you're under arrest for the murder of Ned Dillard." Jones held out the cuffs.  
"What?! You can't be serious. You've got nothing against me!" Dennis stepped back.  
"We found plenty of evidence against you! Like the tie clip you left on the scene, or the fact that you're missing a tooth!" I said.  
"You tried to chop down your victim! When that failed, you decided to burn him up, but Dave Simmons got in the house and you fled the scene!" Jones added.  
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Dennis waved his hands.  
"Save that for the judge, Dennis. You're under arrest!" Jones placed the handcuffs on Dennis.

At the court, Dennis still blabbering to make up an excuse. "Really, your Honor! I can explain! I... I'm a victim of circumstances!" He said.  
"The evidence collected by Inspector Jones and Officer Silvers leaves no place for doubt. The reason why you committed this crime is irrelevant." Judge Hall accentuated.  
"The Court therefore condemns you to life in prison for the premeditated murder of Ned Dillard!" and she added. "Moreover, the Court would like to thank the police of Grimsborough, and in particular Inspector Jones and Officer Silvers, for their swift investigation and perfect results. Court is adjourned!" she raps the gavel, dismissing us.

"Nice catch Keirah! We did well again!" Jones cheerfully said as we celebrated with a fist bump.  
"Tough, but yeah. We did it!" I remarked.  
"I say, I wanted to eat a strawberry filled doughnut right now to boost some momentum." I added.  
"Again?" He chuckled.  
"What? I could eat a dozens of doughnuts right now."  
"Right! Since it your second case that solved! Treat is mine!" Jones grinned.  
"Really?! I'm go with it! Lets go!" I laughed as I pushed him off the exit. Can't wait for my doughnuts! :P

 **A/N: Jones could be generous sometimes. :P Additional investigation will be next. Xiao! :D**  
 **Ps: Sorry I have to delete the first upload, I just need to clear things up so it won't affect the next chapters.**


	3. Additional Investigation, The Vipers

**A/N: Part 2 of my chapter, additional investigation.**

 **Chapter 2.2**  
 **Additional Investigation**

"Congratulations on your first big case, Officer Silvers! There is no doubt you've got what it takes to be a great cop!" Chief Samuel smiled. "Thank you Sir." I smiled. Jones looked at my direction smiling.  
"However, we've discovered that Brown received a big amount of cash on an offshore account." Chief Samuel added.  
"I knew it! I'm sure Marconi paid him to kill Ned Dillard!" Jones gritted.  
Chief Samuel nodded. "For once, I agree. You should put the pressure on Dave Simmons, he might know something. He's been seen roaming around your crime scene, you should go there as soon as possible!" He added.  
"Got it Chief, we're on it!" Jones said as we leave.  
"And wait!" Chief Samuel halted. "And on your way back, drop by the mini-market, Joe Stern has requested our assistance."  
"Got it!" We bid a salute and walked out.

Dave Simmons' car was already there when we arrived. We caught him searching for something on the backyard.  
"Hey, Simmons! What are you doing here? This crime scene is closed to the public!" Jones called. Simmons winced as he turned to face us.  
"Uh... Well, I... I've lost my pen last time I was here! It's my lucky pen, you know, I never sign a contract without it!" He chuckled rubbing his temple.  
Jones raises his brow. "Lucky pen, eh? Keirah and I will look for it. Now leave this place!" Simmons nodded vigorously and head back to his car. We watched his car screeched as it turned to the road. We make sure he'll never gonna get back.  
"Lucky pen... Does Simmons really think he can fool you with this silly story?" Jones finally said. I shook my head slowly smirking. "Come on Keirah, let's search this place and find out what he was really looking for!"

We stood up to where Simmons searching for his 'lucky pen'. I inspect the other side of the garden. Shoving off the trash to clear my view. Finally, I've found something under the ground, I dig it up, finding an envelope.  
"Jones!" I called.  
"Yeah? You found his lucky pen?" He said coming.  
"No. but this." I waved the envelope and he took it. He opened it and saw some documents, recorded, maybe lists of the some property lease.  
"There's Marconi's name in there!" I pointed out. "Right. And what seems to be a file number as well, but I can't read it with these mud stains. Do you think you could figure the numbers out, Keirah."  
"No problem." I took the document and get in the car. The document was tainted but I could still read the numbers. I jotted down each of the numbers I deciphered.  
"Done!" I raised my hands in triumph. "Wow, I thought you're gonna have a hard time decoding that." He chuckled, eyes focused on the road.  
"Seems Alex wasn't the only one who has guts tracking down people." I said proudly.  
"Alright. Let Alex handle the rest." He laughed. "We have to get to Joe first."  
I called Alex and send him the numbers, he'll gonna track it down soon for sure.  
We arrived at Joe's mini market shortly. Joe was expecting us.  
"So, Joe, what did you want us to see about?" Jones asked.  
"I saw one of these snake-tattooed, gang scumbag storm in my shop and mess with my shelves! He ran away when I busted him, but I'm sure he hid something!" Joe explained loudly.  
"Snake-tattooed? The Vipers?" I remarked. "Definitely." Jones answered. "And that's not good."  
"Wha... Who?" Joe seems confused.  
"Not familiar with the Vipers? They used to be just a bunch of petty drug dealers, but lately they've appeared to be more organized somehow." Jones explained.  
"What? Of course I knew of the Vipers somehow! But I can't believe they even have the guts to mess in my shop!" Joe said angrily.  
"Don't worry, Mr Stern, Officer Silvers and I will search the place and look for whatever has been hidden."

Joe decided to closed the store early. I inspect the side of the entrance where cookies and sweets are placed. Finding one of the box of cookies to be opened slightly.  
"Jones. Look at this box of cookies!" I came rushing.  
He turned. "A box of cookies? Come on Keirah, this is no time for a snack!"  
"Not the cookies, the box! Look, it was slightly opened." I showed it off to his face to see it clearly.  
"Well, you're right. it's been opened and rummaged through." He took the box and tear the rest of the box. We found a bag of some kind of a powder.  
"Exactly what we're looking for! Someone likes their cookies extra-frosted." He examined the bag.  
"Well, it looks like a cocaine to me." I added.  
"We'd better take this to the lab and ask Grace to analyze it. We need to know where it comes from."  
"You found anything suspicious?" Joe asked.  
"Yeah, we have to test it first. We're coming back at you once it's done." Jones and I immediately went back to the car.

My phone beeped and saw Alex calling. "Hey Alex what you got there?"  
"Uh. Yeah. The number in the documents is a land registry file. Marconi's file, actually!" He said on the line.  
"Anything suspicious?"  
"There is indeed! Marconi wanted to buy a few properties of which mortgages were held by... Ned Dillard! And it also shows Ned refused his offer!" he answered.  
I squealed. "That's why Marconi wanted Ned dead! Alex, you're a GENIUS!" he laughed at the said lines. I could see Jones chuckled as he shook his head.  
"Thanks Alex!" I said and hang up the phone.  
"Well, looks like we had our chance to bar Marconi now." I added.  
"That's far from being enough to charge Marconi, but good idea Keirah, we can put this under Simmons' nose and see if he sings!" His brows furrowed.

We decided to head on Dave Simmons for some interrogation.  
"Hello Mr. Simmons." We greeted.  
"Hi!" He seems surprised. "Did you... find my lucky pen?" He faked a smile.  
"Not really, but I've got another one for you right here. It's a "cut-the-crap-and-start-talking-now" pen." Jones said raising his brow. "Thanks to the documents you lost, we found out that Ned owned real estate assets Marconi wants. Isn't that an incredible coincidence?" He placed his hands under his chin grinning.  
Marconi stepped back a bit. "I... I don't know anything about this! Mr. Marconi just hired me to sell this one house!"  
"Look, we're pretty sure Marconi put a hit on Dillard, and we won't stop before they can prove it!" I said.  
"I won't tell you anything about Mr Marconi! And if you know what's good for you, you'll stop sticking your nose in his business!" Simmons warned, stuttering.  
"Okay then, but we'll gonna find a way to pinned down Marconi!" Jones said before we leave.

"Dammit! I was sure this coward would squeal on Marconi eventually..." Jones said in dismay as we walk by.  
"Don't worry, One day, Marconi will make a bad move, and we'll gonna put an end to his shady business once and for all!" I cheered him up, tapping his shoulders. "We should go and take this powder to the lab?" He nodded and we get in the car.

At the crime lab.  
"I've got the test results of the powder you found in the box of cookies. It's cocaine, as you thought, and not of the best quality!" Grace reported. "20% cocaine, and 80% of a sugar substance normally used as... a laxative." Her brows are a bit puckered.  
"AH! Too bad our guy didn't take some before leaving the mini-market... He would have left an easy trail to follow!" Jones noted.  
"The Vipers are really vigilant when it comes to those business." I muttered.  
"And to think there's more of them. Seriously though, we've been seizing more and more of this crap in the Industrial Area lately." He added.  
"We should warn Joe Stern that a member of The Vipers may come back for his drugs, and keep an eye on this area." He said and I nodded.

It's late but we still decided to give Joe a visit. "Well, Joe, you were right. The bag that we found on your cookie box was a cocaine." Jones brought up the news.  
"What?! Oh crap, what am I gonna do if they come back for it?" Joe shouted in panic.  
"Don't worry Mr. Stern, police officers in civilian clothes will be patrolling to make sure you don't get into trouble." I said.  
"I'm so sick of these lowlifes... They'll end up ruining my business!" Joe stressed out. Jones patted his shoulder. "It's okay, we'll make sure to watch out your place carefully." Joe nodded sadly.  
"Well, thanks anyway for your help, and hey, Officer Silvers. Take this, it's on the house." Joe handed me some of the hamburgers he bought earlier.  
"Ah well you look at that! Joe's being a generous after all eh Kei?" Jones noted as we walk by. "He was very fond of you."  
"Don't mention it. He still gives me the creeps." I said raising my brow.  
"Don't worry. Joe might be one of the annoying person on the city but he has good stuff." He grinned patting my head.  
"Okay, got it. Maybe we should eat this up, I'm starting to get starving." I shoved off his hands and offered half of my burger, which he greatly accepted.

"Say, I gotta ride you back home. It's late." Jones offered.  
I snorted. "Woah! who's being a lil gentleman right now." I teased. "No worries. I could handle myself. You should get home soon too."  
"Trust me. You're on one of the city's dangerous place." He noted starting up the car.  
"Oh yeah? Well danger is everywhere. Trust me. Not only in this place." I smirked.  
"Just follow me alright. As your senior officer." He chuckled looking at me, his blue orbs meeting my hazels, I conceal myself to blush.  
"Fine. Fine, I'm go with it. Besides, this an unusual invitation from you." I waved my hand in surrender and wore the seat-belt.  
"Lead the way. Officer." He said as he started to maneuver the car.

Ashley, my sister was watching tv when she heard a car parked outside. She immediately got up to see who it was. Unlike mine, Ashley's hair is a bit lighter auburn that flows down to her shoulders. Her eyes was darker than mine. She was 6 years younger than me.  
Jones pulled in the car to park. "Thanks for dropping me by." I said as I untie my seat-belt. I could see light still lit on the window. "No problem. So this your house? Now I know where to find you in case you're getting late." He joked as I get off the car. The door opened and Ashley peered outside. "You have a sister?" He said noticing her.  
"Ah. yeah. She's my baby sister." I smiled. "Hey! I heard that! I told you I'm not a baby anymore!" She shouted. I scowled at her, telling her not to get loud, the neighbors might be sleeping. She made a face then turned to Jones. "Hey." She waved. Jones smiled and waved in response.  
"Uhh, you might wanna have something to drink before you get home." I offered.  
"Sounds great. I might wanna have some coffee for a beat." He chuckled. "Sounds good to me."

I ushered him into the house. Ashley looked at him and Jester our persian cat, came greeting us.  
I heard Jester purring. "Hey Jest. how's my baby." I greeted the cat with my baby tone, carrying him. I suddenly forgot that Jones was behind me. "I never thought you were a cat lover Kei." He noted.  
"Oh yeah. Cats relaxed me. Jester is a sweet cat." I let him pet Jester a bit.  
"Ahem." Ashley raised her brows.  
"Oh, Ashley! This is Jones. My partner. He's a senior officer." I gestured. "Jones, this is Ashley, my sister." Jones gave Ashley a handshake.  
"Senior inspector?" Ashley noted his badge. "Cool! So how's it going with the case?" she asked.  
"Fine. I say, Your sister have done great solving the case." He said smiling.  
"Really?" Ashley said making a face. I rolled my eyes putting down Jester.  
"Wait. Aren't you supposed to be in bed now?" I scowled. I escort Jones on the living room offering him a seat.  
"I was waiting for you! It's late and you aren't home yet." She followed and flopped down on the sofa. I went to the kitchen to make up some coffee.  
"I'm sorry if you have to wait for your sister that much." Jones said. "The case earlier was a bit tricky so it takes us time solving it."  
"It's okay. Sometimes there even some cases that we didn't solve." She grinned.  
"Right." He chuckled. "I'm guessing you're following your sister's footstep?" He asked.  
"Nah. I heard working on a field is more dangerous. I rather work in a crime lab." She answered.  
"She's taking up a degree in forensic science." I added as I handed the coffee to Jones. Jones took it with a smile. "Really? You could work in the crime lab with Grace." He said.  
"Exactly. I asked Grace one time if she could have a training in our lab." I said, flopping down beside my sister.  
Ashley's face lightened. "Really?! Well, I'm really have a hard time finding a company to train."  
"Seems your sister answered your wish." He chuckled taking a sip on the coffee.  
"I'm so excited. I wanted to meet this Grace soon." She squealed. "Wait. So if ever, that happens. I also get to work with you sis?" I nodded.  
"No way!" She said and Jones laughed.  
"At least I get to monitor your actions if ever." She smirked.  
"Isn't me the one who suppose to monitor you?" I scowled.  
"I bet working with you two will be a great addition to the team." Jones said finishing off his coffee. "Thanks for the coffee Kei." He smiled.  
"Well, gotta go. Ashley, nice meeting you. I'm looking forward to work with you soon." He said and I escort him out.

"Hey thanks again for the ride." I said as he get in the car. "And thanks for the coffee." He smiled. I looked at him and noticed that he smiled so cute. Wait. What's wrong with me. I blinked and shoved that thought off.  
"Drive Safely." I said. He waved his hands and start up the car. I watched him maneuvered the car before I went in. 


	4. The Grim Butcher

**A/N: I have to change the rate into M. I didn't know this could be gruesome, Even I had hard time writing it. So just in case I have an announcement, on the sake of our readers, I might skip some cases, I mean, I will not write a case which so brutal or gross(if it's too much), or that could affect credence of others, or whatever it seems for me to be awkward to write.**

 **So don't be surprised if I skip some cases. I hope you understand. :)**

 **The Grim Butcher**

"Rough day Ms. Silvers?" Officer Eduardo Ramirez greeted as we enter the elevator. He was one of the diligent officers here in the Force, one that owned my respects. He was different than what you might expected, He was a bit shorter than me, has bright personality and he always smile. I smiled. "Yes, just a normal, rough day, Officer Ramirez." I sighed. "Inspector Jones is looking for you Seniorita. He asked me a while ago." He informed. "Ah! Maybe he got our new case." My eyes widened. "And I am late." I muttered. Ramirez chuckled. "No, an officer is never late, just busy." He added. "Got it." I smiled as the elevator door opened. "See you later Sir." I bid him a salute as I stepped out. I came rushing to my desk and consider to head to Jones' immediately, placing my bag and stuff clumsily on my desk. "There you are!" I suddenly jumped of at the voice. "Oh shoot! Jones! You scare me!" I scowled. "So happen that you were a bit late today." He noted, looking at his watch.  
"Hey. It's still 5 minutes early. But not my usual time." I remarked. "Ramirez said you were looking for me? Is there another case?" I grinned.  
"Not yet. But I have a news for you. Lets go and see Chief King." He waved as he turned his back. "This must be better be good." I muttered.  
"Might be." He said as we walked to Chief King's office. The last time we faced the Chief, he seemed a bit in a bad mood. So I got nervous when we were called in a meeting. "Seriously?" I rolled my eyes as he ushered me on to the office.

"Good day Officer Silvers and Inspector Jones." He greeted with a smile. He seems to be in a good mood now. "You have proved yourselves to be a remarkable duo." He noted.  
"So far, Officer Keirah, you're one of the astounding officers here in the force and we're glad to be working with you more." He opened his desk and held out a badge. "Jones told me how well you worked as a team. Welcome aboard, Deputy." My jaw almost dropped as he handed me the badge. I was, speechless. "I... Thank you Sir." I said, taking the badge. "As I expected, you're a great help to Jones." He smiled and Jones chuckled. "Well, she really is amazing, and I expect more of her Chief." Jones noted, I can't helped but blushed, I hope they wouldn't notice that.

"Congratulations! Deputy." Jones nudged as we walked back to our desk. "Flattery." I pouted. "I never expect my morning to be like this." I smiled as I pinned the badge to my jacket.  
"Officers, there was a call from the butcher warehouse. a girl named Jennifer Carter was found dead earlier." An officer informed.  
"Okay, got it." Jones took the documents. "Ready for the next case Deputy?" He grinned.  
"Always." I smiled back.

The Warehouse was near the Docks in Industrial Area and the site wasn't that we expected. The officers gathered around and closing the site with police line. Jones and I stared at the scene.  
"Poor girl!" I said, horrified. "I really hope you haven't just eaten." He added, shaking his head. "It's even worse than I expected it to be! She was butchered just like... just like a pig!"  
"Arggh. Let's start to investigate shall we?" I said and knelt down in one knee, inspecting the blood that was in front of us. "You're right, Keirah, we need to focus on the clues. Like that... pool of blood you spotted..."  
I furrowed on something of a footprint. "This shoe print?" I furrowed. Jones knelt down and observe the prints. "Oh, right, there's a shoe print in there! And the way the blood goes around it means... The killer must have stood there while Jennifer bled to death!" The investigators had taken the body to the lab while we inspect the place. "We should take this to the lab for a test." Jones noted as we gathered the prints. As we stood up, he looked around. "I was thinking, if we could inspect that garbage can too." He noted.  
"Sometimes evidences found in unnecessary places." I added. "Right."  
"But I guess you could dig on those for a while?" Jones grinned. I scowled. "Really? You can help me out!" I stated.  
"You know how great you are when it comes to finding stuff." He grimaced. I shook my head and began to dig in the trash. Seriously, I hate this guy, how he would let the woman do the work. I grossed out at the smell of it as I dig deep. At the bottom of it I saw a bloody cleaver and held it out. "Arrgh. I think this is the murder weapon!" I said in disgust. Wearing a gloves seems not enough. "Ugh, imagine having someone waving this in front of your nose... Jennifer must have been terrified!" Jones said placing the evidence in a bag.  
"We have to talk to Raoul Colletti, he is the owner of the warehouse." Jones looked at his files.

"Good day Mr. Colletti, or rather not." Jones said as we faced Raoul. "Deputy Silvers and I found Jennifer Carter dead in your warehouse."  
"Such a tragedy..." Raoul's face saddened.  
"You must knew her for so long." I added. He nodded. "Yes, Jennifer often came to the shop to buy meat. She was a sweet kid, always smiling." He stated.  
"Mr Colletti, apart from you, who has access to this warehouse?" Jones asked.  
"Well... my apprentice, Raphael Soza, has a set of keys. And my daughter, of course. She's the one who discovered the body, you know." He answered.  
"Thank you Mr. Colletti." We bid goodbye.  
"I think we should talk to the other two. Raphael Soza and Colletti's daughter." I said.  
"You're right Keira. They had the keys and access to the warehouse, so, they could be our suspects." Jones said and we head to the lab.

We straight ahead to Nathan's lab just in time. "You're on the right timing officers. I just finished the autopsy." He greeted. "So what did you found out?" Jones asked. "Jennifer was hit over the head with a blunt object, but she was still alive when the killer sliced her open." Nathan answered. "That... was terrible!" I groaned. I could feel Jones is gonna puke. "What's more, her heart is missing." Nathan added. "Wait? What?!" My eyes widened as I grossed out. I looked up Jones finding a little bit sick.  
"Are you two alright? You look a little green?" Nathan asked.  
"No. Continue... Please." Jones said.  
"Jennifer was also tortured. There are numerous burn marks on her chest. Her killer is obviously a smoker... but they can't be very experienced. They left strands of their hair in Jennifer's wounds. Officers, you're looking for someone with black hair!" Nathan noted. We nodded, still in disgust we head to Alex' lab to test the prints we recovered.  
"Hey guys! You don't look so good." Alex' face changes as he saw our disgusted face. "Very." I sighed and Jones handed him the prints. "Could you decipher the prints, could tell if there could be any lead to our killer?" Jones asked.  
"Got it." Alex said, taking it. "Great, call us up when you're done, we just have to meet up with some people." He added.

And what's left is the murder weapon, we decided to head next to Grace's lab. "We found this cleaver on the garbage can, you might wanna test it." Jones handed the evidence. "Sure. I'll call you up once I'm done." Grace smiled.

We headed to Colletti's residence to talk to Trish Colletti, Raoul's daughter. Trish is 16 years old. She has this innocent kind of face and black curly hair. She also wears a yellow shirt and a daisy beneath her right ear that matches her shirt and blue eyes.  
"I still can't shake that image out of my head... She looked like a pig!" She snapped out as we asked her.  
"I'm sorry if you had to see that. Were you friends with Jennifer?" Jones asked.  
"Oh no, we didn't hang out together. She was too posh for me." She sneered. "And she was a flirt, I can tell you THAT. I wouldn't be surprised if she got the wrong kind of a guy!" She added.  
"I see. Well, thank you for your time Ms. Colletti." We smiled and leave.

Raphael Soza wasn't expecting us, I could read that on his face, finding him a bit stunned as he opened the door. He seems a bit older than Trish. His eyes were green, that also matched his inner green shirt and a brown jacket.  
"Hello, Raphael my name's David Jones and this is Keirah Silvers, from Grimsborough P.D." Jones greeted. "Raoul Colletti said you have accessed to his warehouse. I'm sure you knew him?"  
"Yes, I've been Mr Colletti's apprentice for two years. After my mother split on me and left me to rot in that hobo camp, he's the only one who gave me a chance. What's this all about?" He said, his brows puckered.  
"We found Jennifer Carter there, dead." I said. His face suddenly became horrified.  
"Have you known Jennifer." I asked. "Y...Yes. But I didn't knew her well. We talked, nothing more. I've been dating Trish for 6 months. I, I don't pay attention to other girls." He stuttered.  
"So you're working for the father and dating the daughter? That's quite a comfy arrangement you've got there!" Jones commented.  
"The Collettis have been very kind to me. Life in Cooperville's tough, you know. I'm glad they're not afraid of me." Raphael said.  
"Alright. But we will still need to have a look at your possessions, Raphael." Jones said. We bid a bow and headed to Cooperville.

Cooperville wasn't the best name you expect for a place like this. A part of it has a homeless camp. We walked past on some by standers, who eyed us as we passed by. Jones told me he knew this place, they've been here for a certain case before, a long time ago.  
We arrived to where Raphael supposed to stay. "Jones! Long time no see!" An old man greeted. Jones smiled and gave him a handshake. "Who's the new recruit?" He smiled at me.  
"Sam this is Deputy Keirah, my new partner. Keirah, this is One tooth Sam, the de facto mayor of Cooperville and an old friend." Jones gestured.  
"Nice to meet you." I let out a casual smile. "And it was a pleasure to meet such a wonderful lass." He smiled. I flushed for a moment, mouth agape by this man's praise. Wow.  
"Uhmm. Thanks." I snorted.  
"And I know for sure you're here when things gotten bad." Sam dejected. "Sadly, yes. We're here to check on Raphael Soza's quarter." Jones said.  
"Ah! Yes, Raphael sleeps in that shack, over there." Sam pointed out over an old shack.  
"Thanks Sam, see you around." Jones said as we head to the shack.

His room is messy, and this was expected, for a lost boy. We proceeded to inspect the room. I turn to his bed side and found something unusual. "Uhmm. Jones?" I held out, something like a lingerie. "It's unusual to see something like these, unless Raphael is using those." I snorted. "Those panties are a bit fancy for the neighborhood. And look at that "J"..." Jones pointed out. "Yeah, I started to feel that this J was Jennifer." I said.  
"Maybe you're right, but we can't be sure if it stands for Jennifer... But maybe a closer look at those panties could confirm it!" He said.

"Great job, Keirah I've compared the DNA you collected from those panties with Jennifer's and it's definitely hers!" Grace reported. "But I also found DNA belonging to a certain Raphael Soza!" she added.  
"Well I'll be! Raphael may be dating Trish Colletti, now we have the proof he's also fooled around with our victim!" Jones noted.  
"Maybe Sam have seen them together? I think we could ask him." I stated.  
"Hm, good point. Sam might have seen something, too. It's time to have a proper chat with him!" He nodded.  
"Thanks very much Grace!" I said.

We head back to the homeless camp to have a chat with Sam. "I don't think Raphael was seeing Jennifer, no. You're not really suspecting the kid, are you? Raphael's a sweet boy, he'd never do something like that!" Sam explained. "Well, that's up to us to determine, Sam, and the fact that his DNA was found on Jennifer's 'belongings' makes him our number one suspect." Jones commented. "There must be another explanation for it! But I'm sure you and Deputy Keirah will get to the bottom of things!" Sam winked.  
"Thanks, well, just stick around." Jones and I bid goodbye.

Before the night comes, we straight ahead to talk to Raphael. "We've got quite a mystery on our hands, Raphael. How did your DNA end up on Jennifer's panties? Did you exchange underwear?" Jones asked. I hold up myself laughing at the last line though.  
"No need to be so sarcastic, mister. We were friends, nothing more! I don't know how my DNA ended up on those!" Raphael furrowed.  
"Surely you must have an idea... We'll be keeping a close eye on you, Raphael, you can be sure of that." Jones squinted.

Back at the station, we stared at the pile of documents we kept on scanning, still haven't find a clue that could lead to the killer. "Well, Keirah, this is a grisly case and no mistake!" Jones rubbed his head. "Poor Jennifer... We can't let her killer get away with it."  
"I agree. I still can't believe who will did this to Jennifer. Seems all the people we've been talked to says she's a nice girl." I sighed. "Well, except for Trish." I said. "Poor girl." I shook my head.  
"At least, we have some several leads. We know Raphael Soza, the butcher's apprentice was probably having an affair with her..." Jones said. "And the evidences. The killer has black hair and smokes. We just need a new lead to push this forward!"  
"For now, we should take a break. Let's go home, before it gets late." He smiled.

"Good morning Deputy!" Ramirez cheerfully greeted as I head on my desk. "We've contacted Jennifer Carter's mother, Vanessa Carter. And she's ready to see you, she's still in shock though." Ramirez gave me the address. I nodded. "Thanks, I'm going to inform Jones about this."  
"They've also found a backpack on the crime scene. Apparently it belonged to Jennifer. Maybe you should have a look at it?" He added. "Got it!" I smiled.

I walked off to Jones' office, not far to where my desk. Handling the address, I peered to the glass door and knocked. "Yo." I greeted. "Hey!" He smiled. I find him, reviewing the documents we received. "Ramirez said they found Jessica Carter's mother, here's the address." Jones took it and grinned. "Great."  
"We should talk to her. She might have the answer." I smiled. "Yeah!" He noted.

"I c-can't belie... believe my baby's dead! I told her! I t-told her not to go near that hobo camp! Deviants, murderers, the lot of them!" Vanessa dread. Shaking her hands. She was in terror. She took another puff on her cigar. Making me a bit more uncomfortable. I tried not to cough but I smell the smoke it hurts my head. I covered my nose with my hanky. Jones on the other hand really is uncomfortable, he waved out his hands, shoving off the smoke. This lady is a chain smoker. The blonde though doesn't seem to bother our stance. "Uhmm. I'm sorry Mrs. Carter." Jones said.  
"She was seeing a boy in that camp! Oh, she wouldn't admit it, but I knew! I knew! And now she's dead!" her blue orbs filled with tears. She took another puff on the cigar, and I can't help to step back a bit.  
"We'll keep that in mind, Mrs Carter. In the meantime, if you don't mind, we would like to have a look around your house." Jones said and she nodded. We left her outside as I catch up some air, and couldn't hold on, I cough out. "Are you okay?" Jones rubbed my back. "I thought I'm going to die smelling her cigar. I hate smoker." I muttered as I cough a little bit more. "Yeah. I wish Mrs Carter wouldn't chain-smoke like that. Makes my eyes water." He rubbed his eyes. I straighten up a bit and breath. "Yeah." I answered.  
"Can you search the kitchen without me, Keirah? I really need to get some fresh air!" It's his turn to cough. "Yes, I think you should." I nodded rubbing his back.

I reached the kitchen and start an inspection. I went to the dining first as I held out my gloves. Nothing could be seen here, the table was neatly arranged. I searched through the corners, and reached beside the refrigerator. Suddenly a mice ran passed me. I yelped, I must have scared it too. Shaking my head, I proceed beside the oven. I saw a trash can that was almost full. I tried to dig it carefully. "Found anything?" Jones came back. "Hmm. Not yet." I said as I proceed. "But, I think I have." I furrowed as I held out a notebook. I opened it and we found out it was Jennifer's diary. One of the pages was torn. I looked around the trash and found its pieces. "Ah, teenage angst. Jennifer's torn the last pages of her diary to pieces! But I'm sure you can put them back together in no time, can't you, Keirah?" He said. I smiled and put it on the bag.  
Back at the station, I started to put back the pieces of the torn pages. "Gotcha!" I grinned. Jones stared at it. "Jennifer's diary looks good as new now! I didn't expect any less from you, Keirah. Nicely done!" We took a closer look at the page, there was also a sketch, ""Raphael and me are THROUGH! He's NEVER going to leave Trish-the-Cow, too afraid of losing his job! That family's POISON! I HATE THEM ALL!" ..." Jones read the note beside it. "Intense..." I commented. "Whoa, this thing between Jennifer and Raphael must have been more serious than we thought if she wanted him to leave Trish for her!" he added. "Nobody wants a third wheel." I commented. "I think, we need to have another talk with our two lovebirds! Let's go!"  
"Jones!" I called. "I found something that might help us for further investigation." I handed him a cellphone. "I found it on Jennifer's bagpack."  
"Great let's send this to Alex to analyze."

After we send the phone to Alex, we head straight to talk to Trish. "Trish, we found Jennifer's diary and it looked like she and Raphael were together." Jones broke the news. Trish face began to fill with anger. "A girl is dead and all you care to do is spread filthy lies around? You're disgusting!" she exasperated.  
Jones sighed. "We very much doubt Jennifer would lie in her own dia-" Trish cut, staring at him. "Shut up, SHUT UP! Raphael was NOT having affair with that... with Jennifer! He loves ME! He didn't care about that snobby flirt!" she shouted. I step forward trying to stop her from yelling.  
But Jones didn't bothered her sharp glare. "You seem to harbor a lot of hate towards Jennifer, Trish. Why is that, if she didn't steal your boyfriend?" he added.  
Trish began to calm slowly. "Like I said. She was a snob, and a flirt!" She sighed. "Sorry for not swooning over her! Now if you're done, I'd like to go out for a smoke. Dad hates it when I smoke inside." she said and left. "I'm starting to get a bad feeling around her." I noted. "She also smokes."  
"Which matches our killer's profile." Jones added. And I nodded.  
"We'll keep an eye on her. We should talk to Raphael next."

Just as we said to Trish, we told Raphael about the diary. He kept his eye lower and sweat was around his face. "Oh great, you found Jennifer's diary. Okay, yes, we fooled around once or twice.." he gulped. "But she kept telling me to break up with Trish, that the Collettis were like poison, she was insanely hateful towards them!" he gestured in panic.  
"And breaking up with Trish would have meant losing your job, wouldn't it? How convenient that Jennifer's dead..." Jones squinted. "I would have never killed her! I just told her to get lost, I never hurt her!" Raphael waved his hands. I looked at him and read his face.  
"Give us a second will you?" I said and pulled Jones. "I guess Sam was right about this kid, He seemed to panic and was confused what's happening around him." I whispered. "How can you tell? Let's see when we find something more on his place." He said, lowering his voice.  
"Look, are we done?" Raphael asked. We turned back. "Sorry to keep you wait. But just in case, we would like to investigate more on your place."  
"Do whatever you want! I didn't killed her." He said. "Uhmm. Hey, you wouldn't happen to have some cigarettes, would you? I could use some, it's been a really crappy day."  
"Sorry, we're not a smoker type." I raised my brow. He sighed and mumbled as we left.

Jones' phone began to rang. "Hey Alex. What you got there?" Jones said. He tap the loud speaker so I could also hear it. "Oh, there isn't much on that cellphone. Mostly just casual messages from Jennifer to her friends and her mom..." Alex said.  
But he added. "Well, of course, except for this, sent two hours before she died: "I'm not scared of you! I'm going to tell. You'll pay for what you did!"!"  
"She's really... mad." I murmured.  
"Intense huh?" Alex snorted. "And guess who she sent it to? ... Raoul Colletti!" We exchanged look at the last line.  
"We better talk to this guy." Jones muttered. "Thanks Alex." and hang up the phone.

"That... that message was nonsense! I just laughed it off. Thought she had dialed the wrong number." Raoul chuckled nervously.  
"Oh yeah? Why would she have had your number in the first place, Mr Colletti? Fast orders of kidneys?" Jones sneered.  
"Look, let's be serious here! You know how kids are, always making up stories! She was just having me on, that's all!" Raoul said.  
"We will be the judge of that. Now, we need to know your shoe-size, and your daughter's as well." Jones asked.  
"We both wear a size 10. Trish always complains that she got my feet, haha."

"How does the shoe size matter on the investigation?" I asked as we get back to the car. "Remember the shoeprints we collected?" I nodded in response.  
"Grace got the killer's shoe size and she found it was size 10." He explained.  
"Interesting. Raoul and Trish have size 10." I smirked. "But does Raoul telling the truth? You know, he seems a bit fidgety when you tell him about the text."  
"Yeah, but I don't know what to think. If Jennifer's message was really addressed to Mr Colletti, then he's becoming our number one suspect." Jones said.  
"But he denies it, if only Jennifer is here." He added.  
"So the list of suspects are adding up. Think we should go back to Cooperville and see if there any clues?"  
"Good idea, Keirah. Maybe inspiration will strike us there..."

We head back to the Shack and started the investigation. Things are in place like we came here before. Messy. I searched beneath some pile of clothes and I found a bloody cloth. "Something fishy eh?" I told Jones.  
"Perfect job as always, 's get this to Grace!"

"Most of the blood on that rag was Jennifer's, but not all. Your killer must have cut themselves doing their dirty job." Grace noted. "Comparing DNA with our entire database would take weeks, but I can tell you this straight away: your killer's bloodtype is O positive!" she added. "Great, that's much of a help. Thanks!" Jones said.

Later at the station. Jones seemed to be stressed out. "I don't know what to think anymore. It seems most of our suspects could have killed Jennifer!" he said walking back and forth. "Uh, yeah. Almost all of them matches the killer's profile." I noted. "Could you stop for a moment. I can't talk to you that way. You're making me a bit of uncomfy." I furrowed.  
"Well I am stressed out right now." He stopped and plopped down to the chair beside me. "Raphael was having an affair with her, and Trish, whether she believes in the affair or not, clearly hated Jennifer anyway." he added.  
"She might also knew it, that is why she hated Jennifer that much." I noted.  
"And there's that weird message Jennifer sent to Mr Colletti..." He said, his hand were on his chin.  
I doubt she get it wrong sent. I've seen it on her diary, she called them a poison. She must have pointing it out to the Collettis.  
I snapped out from my thoughts as Jones sighed. "At least you've discovered a new piece of evidence, the killer's blood type! With you by my side, I'm sure we'll catch that killer soon, Keirah." I could tell that I blushed at his comment.  
"Uhhhh. Yeah, sure we'll catch the killer soon." I smiled.

We scanned through the suspects profiles, reviewing it again. "Well, Keirah, what do you make of this case? We've got one young girl killed like she was a piece of veal, and a lot of shady suspects..." He noted.  
"We still have to find more evidence, I think. We have our time." I raised my brow, staring at the document.  
"To gain time, I've asked Ramirez to fill us in on our last suspects' shoe-sizes. Mrs Carter wears a size 9.5... Sam wears a size 10.5. He also smokes like a chimney." He said. As for Raphael's shoe-size, it's a 10. Basically this means that-"  
"Deputy Silvers, Sir! Mrs Carter is here to speak with you. She's in hysterics, she won't stop crying! I think you ought to come quick!" Ramirez rushed in. We exchanged looks and head outside.

Vanessa was crying when we arrived at the interrogation room. She's in hysteria, her hands shaken as she held on to me. "Easy Mrs. Carter..." I rubbed her back. "My daughter's heart! THEY SOLD ME MY DAUGHTER'S HEART!" she wailed. My jaw dropped hearing the news.  
"What... please, Mrs Carter, calm down. Who sold you your daughter's heart? Where is it?" Jones asked.  
"This morning! I went to buy some meat! And there's... there's a heart in there, and I never bought any!" she stuttered. "Don't you understand? They gave me my daughter's heart so I would EAT it!" I can't help but to held her close.  
"Those groceries, are they in your home? We will figure this out, don't worry!" Jones assured. We get to his car right away. Mrs. Carter was keep on wailing about her daughter, as I kept comforting on her. We arrived soon at her house.  
"Mrs. Carter, stay here and chill a bit, while we investigate your kitchen okay." I said helping her to sit down on the couch. She nodded and she seems a bit calm now. "Don't worry, we figure this out." I smiled.

Jones and I found the grocery bag at her kitchen. It was placed on the table, things were strayed out. "I'll, uh, let you search this bag, right Keirah? I think I saw something over... over there." I glared at Jones. "C'mon I know how good you are in finding stuff?" he grinned.  
I sighed as I searched down the bag, and yep. I found a heart, packaged in plastic wrap.  
"Oh Golly, is that what I think it is? Let's take it to the lab!" Jones said with disgust and I nodded.

"This is your victim's heart, alright. Are you telling me the killer sold Jennifer's heart to her own mother?!" Grace was shocked. "Evidently, yes." Jones nodded. "Did you find anything else? Can you get fingerprints off of... of that?"  
Grace sighed. "No, but I found something else. There were yellow fibers stuck to her heart." she glanced at us. "Plain cotton, nothing remarkable... but now you know your killer was wearing yellow clothes!" She stopped. "Guys?"  
I glanced up to Jones. "Oh golly, Jones?"  
"Well, I'm not sorry to see the end of this case." He smirked. I smiled. "I only hope Jennifer's killer hasn't had time to carve somebody else up!"  
"Let's go arrest that freak, shall we, Keirah?" He said.  
"Got it." I smiled.

"I'm sorry to tell you Sir, but the evidence we got, leads to your daughter." Jones said. Trish face began to change into a sudden grim. "Dad, you're not going to let them arrest me, are you?" She stammered. Raoul just stared as we held her. "Dad! DO something!" she yelled. Jones started to place the cuff on her wrist as I hold her. "I... they have proof, sweetie. How... how could you do such a thing?" Raoul fret.  
"That bastard slept with my boyfriend! And she kept flirting with you dad, I SAW her! What, I was supposed to let that fly?!" She gritted.  
"Are you meaning to tell us you killed a girl because you thought she was a flirt?!" Jones furrowed.  
"She was a TRAMP! I had to teach her to behave!" she shouted.  
"By cutting her up?!" He glared.  
"SHE HAD IT COMING! I don't regret nothing, nothing! She bled like the pig she was!"  
"We've heard more than enough. Trish Colletti, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a Court..."

The next day, the trial for Jennifer's murder began, all is there. Mrs. Carter is still had that horrified look, and Mr. Raoul, still couldn't believe his daughter could do such thing. Trish was standing, facing the judge. "Never have I heard of such a heinous crime in all my years presiding this Court." Judge Hall said. "For this reason, Trish Colletti, despite being 16 years of age, you have been tried as an adult for the kidnapping, torture and slaughter of Jennifer Carter."  
"I only did what had to be done! Raphael was under her spell, but now he knows I did it for love, for us!" Trish said.  
"I think what Raphael KNOWS is that he's lucky you didn't have time to carve him up as well..." Jones sneered.  
"STOP LYING! He hated her, he wanted her gone, she was a witch!" She yelled. Soon the crowd began to exchanged confusing looks.  
"Silence in the Court! Trish Colletti, you are hereby sentenced to life in jail, with psychological monitoring and a chance for parole in 40 years. Court is adjourned!" Judge Hall rapped the gavel.  
It's all done. Mrs. Carter seemed to not believe all this was happened, either to Mr. Raoul. I couldn't even believe a girl would do such thing.

"I wonder how Mrs Carter will ever manage to rebuild her life... She couldn't even speak during the trial... And I don't know how I'd feel in Mr Colletti's shoes. Knowing that your own child has been capable of such cruelty..." Jones noted as we head back to the station. "I was thinking the same thing too." I added.  
"I pity them both. Jennifer and Trish."  
"Yeah?" He furrowed.  
"They both do a wrong thing because they loved one guy." I snorted.  
"Yeah, sometimes too much love will kill you... Or you will get killed." He noted.  
I chuckled. "Well, Love is not the problem, the people are. We sometimes came to love the people and do the wrong things. Thinking we did it for love, but it's wrong. In Trish case."  
"Wow. Another inspiring words." He chuckled and I laughed.

"In any case, I'm impressed with you, you didn't even puke once!" He commented. "I was trying not to." I tilted my head. "Still can't get ahead of the scene though." I shook my head.  
"Don't worry you'll be." He said. "What do you say, let's go and see Chief King."

 **A/N: Addtional investigation is up soon. Please bear with me. :D Thanks. Safety and Peace.**


	5. Additional Investigation, helping hand

**Additional Investigation**

"Officer Silvers, you did splendidly with this case. I know it can't have been a walk in the park, but you kept your cool and got to the bottom of things. Great job!" Chief King noted.

"Now, I think you two should check up on Mrs Carter and Mr Colletti. Both lost a daughter today, and I want to make sure they won't do anything they might regret."

"Got it Sir." I said.

"And while you're at it, please go talk to One-Tooth-Sam. He's brought up some serious concerns about the homeless camp's safety." Chief added. We nodded and proceed.

Raoul came back to his work at the warehouse when we found him, but unlike the last time we faced him, he's now a bit of terrible. It really hurts to know that your love ones did horrible things just to get what they want. Even if it's wrong.

"I still cannot believe my own daughter could have done such a terrible thing.." I could see his eyes almost shred into tears. "We know how hard it is to get over, but just in case you needed us..." Jones said. "Yes of course officers, please. I haven't slept in two days, I see Jennifer's blood everywhere! ... Please, inspectors, could you inspect my warehouse and check there aren't any more objects tainted with her blood?" Raoul added.

"... of course, Mr Colletti! We'll... be happy to look at all that blood for you!" Jones smiled.

We stared at the warehouse. Judging by the crimson floor, it will be hard to see which is which. I sighed.

"Raoul can't be serious, can he? This place is COVERED with blood! How are we supposed to figure out which is pork and which is woman?!" Jones shook his head.

"Seriously?" I said in dismay. "But the man needs help." I sighed.

"I'm relying on your instincts on this one, Keirah. If anyone can find human blood in this mess, it's you!" He noted.

"Really now? Well lets see about that." I smirked as we started to inspect.

All is covered in blood, in addition of the meats that are hanging on the rails. This will be harder that I thought. Forget the trash, we already inspect it and nothing to be seen. I turned to inspect the corners of the room, and my super vision must be on my side, coz I found something. "Jones I don't think this is the right thing, but I've got a hunch that this one's has the victim's blood remains." I furrowed showing him the glasses. "This must be here all along since the crime."The only object with Jennifer's blood on it!" He said. "See what did I tell you? You're amazing." He chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. "We still haven't found out if it is Jennifer's."

"Well, I'll leave you the honor of collecting a sample for Grace, okay?" He grinned.

So after you tell some commendations, you're telling me to do the dirty work again? Such a jerk. I rolled my eyes. "You really are something." I muttered and he laughed.

After I collected the blood samples we gave it to Grace for some further confirmation.

"I've analyzed the blood you collected from those glasses, Keirah, and it comes up positive for the victim!" Grace smiled. "But, hm... I thought this case was closed?" She tilted her head.

"Haha, yeah... long story. Anyway, thanks Grace, I don't know what we would do without you!" Jones said.

"Not a problem." Grace smiled.

"Here you go, Mr Colletti! Those glasses were the only objects on which Deputy Silvers found traces of Jennifer's blood!" Jones said, handing the glasses to Raoul. Raoul smiled. He managed to smile again, though his eyes is kinda gloomy. "Thank you so much, Deputy Silvers! If everyone was as selfless as you, maybe my daughter wouldn't have become a murderer." He smiled wearily. I smiled. "We never know for sure." I said. "I guess not. Anyway, thanks again. Maybe now I'll finally manage to sleep at night!" He sighed and we bid him goodbye.

"I really hope he could get away with it." I said as we walked. "Well, eventually he will." He smiled. "But we're not... We have to take a look at one tooth Sammy's place first." He added.

"Oh good, just the people I needed! Look, between the Vipers and Marconi's henchmen, things here are getting worse and worse. We have to hide everything we have, or those goons take it from us!" Sam said.

"I understand your frustration Sam, but so far we haven't been able to pin anything on those guys..." Jones noted.

"Ha, I'm not asking for that much! But I've heard that your pal here, Keirah, is a crack at finding lost stuff, and I can't figure out where I've hidden my lucky gold tooth." He snorted.

"Uhhh, not really." I grinned.

"Haha! See Keirah? We've got a bit of a reputation!" Jones said proudly. "Don't you worry, Sam. We'll find that tooth in no time! It must be around the camp, anyway!"

"Are you sure he misplaced his tooth here somewhere?!" I glared. The place was a mess, how am I supposed to find a thing here. "Well, if you have something so valuable you wouldn't let the thieves know the place. This is the least they have expected it to be." He explained. Aside of some pile of rotten junks, there are pile of woods everywhere. "Okay, I guess I'm gonna take a first look at those garbage." I gulped, disgusted. "Are you sure you want to search through that trash can, Keirah? Your flair might not be as good after those fumes, you know!" Jones chuckled. "Let's see about that." I raised my brows. Jones started to look at the junks while I take the trash can. I flip it over and spread out the garbage. With my gloves, I dig in shoving off the trashes. Seems my hunches are very fortunate today. I grinned as I found the tooth. "Told ya!" I said with a triumph. "Wow Keirah! Great job on finding this tiny tooth in that huge trash can." He blinked. "How did you?"

"Just a bit of a magic." I grinned. He rolled his eyes. "I was just joking."

He laughed. "Let's go give it back to Sam!"

"Here you go Sam! One gold tooth, fresh from the trash!" Jones handed over the gold tooth.

"Already?!" Sam startled. "Ha, I see the guys didn't lie, Keirah really IS a crack! Thanks, Deputy!" He smiled.

"Hey, I helped a bit too, you know!" Jones object.

"Sure... the important thing is that you believe it! I'm pretty good at finding stuff too. Here, Keirah, this is for you!" Sam handed me some burgers. "Wow. Thank you Sam." I smiled. "I hope to see you soon, milady." He smiled.

"I'm starting to think you have some magic in you, you can let people liked you already." He noted as he drove the car. "And you cracked the job really good." He laughed.

"Really now, so you were expecting I'm gonna treat you out, with that comments." I chuckled.

"Hey, I mean it." He pouted. "Though it's hard for me to believe."

"Aww, here comes insecurity." I teased, he shook his head smirking.

"C'mon you have to give yourself a credit sometimes, David." I raised my brow. He turned. He seemed surprise to be called by his first name. "Must focus on the road, Dude." I gestured. He laughed. "I'm surprised hearing you say my name."

"What? no one ever called you David?" I shrugged.

"It's just unusual, people usually called me by my surname, they thought that Jones was my first name." He chuckled. "So whatever it is, it's okay." I said.

"James called me by my name, he also adds the Jeremiah sometimes." He chuckled.

"Well, whenever I stressed out something I wanted to tell a person, I call out by their names. Specially, when I'm angry, I'm gonna call out by their full names." I grinned.

We parked the car in front of Carter's residence. "I hope this could be good." I said as we step on the door.

"Expect the unexpected." Jones noted as he ring the doorbell.

Vanessa seemed to be in distressed when she opened the door. "Hello Mrs Carter! Officer Silvers and I just came by to see how you were holding up." Jones greeted. _Or is it not?_ "Oh officers, you've got to help me! My sweet little baby will be buried tomorrow and I cannot find her baptism medal anywhere! She needs to wear it for her eternal rest!" Vanessa cried. "Of course we'll help you! Keirah's instincts never fail; we will find your medal in no time, don't you worry! Let's start by having a look at your kitchen!" He smiled.

I could smell the fresh apple pie baking in the oven as we arrived at the kitchen. Some freshly baked macaroni lined up on the table. "I used to bake Jennifer her favorites when she was a kid." Vanessa noted. "If only she was here." She said sadly. I smiled and proceed to look around. I look after the cabinets but failed to find it. Next, I looked over the drawers and found something gold pieces on one of the drawers. I looked at it closely. "Jones it looks like this is the medal we were looking for." I said inspecting.

He came closer and looked at it. "I think you've struck gold, as usual!" He noted. I glared. "It is obviously a gold, Jones."

"Well, I say "gold" but... what kind of cheap medal breaks into so many pieces?!" He chuckled. "I also found it's pieces." I piled up the remaining. "Hmmm. We cannot give the medal back to Mrs Carter in that state! ... Keirah, do you think you could manage to put it back together?" He said.

"Ah! No worries, good thing I always carry this around!" I took out a small tool box and placed it over the kitchen sink. Jones agaped. "Those tools seems like the one that Alex uses."

"Actually it's his tools." I took out some wielding machine gadget. "He gave it to me." I grinned.

"Woah. Alex wasn't used to handing his stuff to someone." He squinted.

"Hey, he told he didn't use them for a long time so maybe I could take care of them." I said as I started to put back the pieces.

"All done!" I said as I finally repaired the medal. "Well it looks more like a medal now." He grinned. "Let's just hope it's the one Mrs Carter was looking for!"

"Mrs Carter, Officer Keirah has found and repaired this medal. Is this your daughter's?" he said handing over the medal.

"It... looks like it, yes. But my oldest daughter has the same. Let me see..." She squinted as she inspect the medal. "I... I cannot read the birthdate! How can I know for sure? Oh, my poor baby girl!" She began to cried.

"Mrs Carter, calm down. Deputy Keirah is used to this kind of thing. She will decipher this birthdate for you!" Jones tapped her shoulder and I took the medal.

"Don't worry Mrs Carter. I will take care of this." I said and sat down on the chair. I searched for some gadget that could help decipher the date. The engraved was a bit scratchy so it was hard to tell. I really owe Alex for these stuff, it is very useful. I trace down the carvings and wrote it down. When I finally got the date I carved it again on the medal.

Jones came back as I finished the job. "I don't know how you manage to decipher these things, Keirah! It all looks like giberrish to me!" He furrowed.

"I owe it to Alex. His gadgets were a big help!" I grinned.

"Let's show this birthdate to Mrs Carter right away!" He smiled.

Jones smiled as he handed over the medal. "Mrs Carter, Deputy Keirah has done wonders once again! Is your daughter's birthdate: 04/12/1995?" Vanessa smiled as she read the carvings. "Yes, it is! Oh, what a relief! Thank you so much, Deputy Keirah! Now my daughter can truly rest in peace!" She sighed and smiled. "It's been my pleasure Ma'am to help." I smiled. "Please, take this, as thanks!" She turned and handed us some of her apple pies.

"Well, thank you Mrs. Carter." We said and leave.

"Alex the stuff you handed to me was super cool! I like it!" I cheerfully said as we head in the lab. "Told ya. Its better than what you've expected." Alex gave a high five. "So what brings you here? Seems you don't have some case related stuff been carrying?" Grace smiled. "Nope. But Keirah wants to share her blessings today." Jones said. "Yes. And I'm sure, I can't eat these alone can I?" I said, bringing up the apple pie. "What have we got here?" Nathan peered on the door. "C'mon Nate just having a small celebration." Alex waved. "Well that's what it looks like. And I could tell that is a freshly baked apple pie." He noted.

"Yep... Okay! Every man for himself!" I stated as we took our own slice of the pie.

"I forget to tell Mrs. Carter that this is one of my favorite!" I said as I take out a bite.

"She'll be happy to make another one for you if ever." Jones chuckled. "I would be delighted." I sneered.

"Say guys tomorrow is your day off right?" Alex said. "What do you say let's go for some movies! I miss watching!"

"That would be great if it is your treat." Jones snickered.

Alex glared. "You're kidding... C'mon I miss hanging out. Especially Keirah's here."

"Aww. It would be great but I was thinking to take a good sleep this weekend." I shrugged.

"Awww, you don't say." Alex pouted.

"Besides Alex, I also have a date tomorrow. So basically we can't keep it up to your date." Grace added.

Alex stared. "So I was the only one who haven't had a plan for tomorrow. Hooray!" He said sarcastically. "What about you Jones?"

"Uhhh. I was thinking of staring up the ceiling all day." He joked.

"Such productive day for you." I shook my head.

Alex stared to Nathan. Hoping this time he take the offer. "Sorry, I'm not a movie watcher type." He shrugged.

"So technically I'll just gonna play the dungeons and heroes tomorrow." Alex pouted.

"That would be great! You know I played that when I was in college!" I said. "Really? Let's have a PVP sometime!" He challenged. "Seriously? That won't be easy?" I raised my brow.

"Looks like Alex has found his so called opponent." Grace noted.

"I never thought you could play a MMorpg game. Keirah." Jones said.

"You never expected it?" I said. He shrugged.

In the end we talked about stuff that would pop out through our heads, more of them are crazy stuff. Different topics, and I laughed whenever Jones knew about something new in me. Well, there's much more he didn't knew about me. I never knew these people would be fun to get with. I wasn't an open person before so talking to these people, makes me a bit more comfortable now. Since Mom and Dad died, I became so isolated. Even Ashley complained about how unsocialize I was when I was in highschool. I starting to think I became selfish. Maybe that's why it didn't work out with my first relationship. I smiled, wondering, these people that work in a horrendous situation, they still have this positivity in life. Now I'm starting to love my work, I'm starting to love these people. Grimsborough is my place, and I started to love it. The feeling of an adventure, this is what I'm looking for. To help out people.

"Penny for your thought?" Jones snapped me out. I smiled. "I'm just happy." I said.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading. :D note, I just make up the 'dungeons and heroes' game. Next chapters will be next for up... :D Xiao!**


	6. The Dockyard Killer

**Chapter 4**

 **The Dockyard Killer**

Two days have passed after the terrible incident of the grim butcher. While the headquarter's occupied, I decided to investigate more about the Vipers. Seems the mission is a bit tricky, I still haven't figured out who the leader is. The database hasn't enough information on the latter.

"Hi, Deputy Keirah! Ready to solve a new case?" Jones peeked on my desk.

"Great! Enlighten me." I grinned.

Jones chuckled. "After what we had to put up with last time, I'd understand if you were reluctant..."

"But I guarantee you this murder is not as gruesome as what we just went through!" He added.

"I'm not reluctant. Just still getting the hang on what happened to the poor girl." I said.

"Well maybe you'll gonna move on when you work on the next case. They're waiting for us to process the scene, let's go!" He smiled and I nodded, following him.

According to the report, the Victim was found at the Docks in Industrial Area. Jones drive as the radio gave us the report on the area. We arrived at the area shortly. The forensic investigators started inspecting.

"So, our victim's name is... Dan Broke, at least according to his ID." He noted through the document.

I peered down to the body, inspecting it. His stomach was stabbed. I tried to find what could be the murder weapon, instead I found a broken badge and a wallet. Near the victim's body. The forensics have carried the Victim to the ambulance.

"Jones, this might help." I said handing him the wallet. "And this." I showed him the badge.

"The autopsy results won't be ready for a few hours, but what you found will keep us busy enough!" He noted. "As for that broken badge you picked up, I wonder... Do you think you could piece it back together? It might be relevant to our case."

"No problem." I nodded, placing the evidence on the bag.

"Oh, and the man who called it in, James Smith, is right over there. We can go speak to him whenever you're ready, Keirah!" He said.

I smiled. "I'm always ready. Let's go!"

James Smith wears a beanie covering his long blonde streaks, matched by grey hoodie and white inner. He stared as we came in. We casually introduced ourselves.

"I was driving the barge back to port when I saw that guy on the docks. I called out to him, but he wouldn't answer." James explained.

He then pointed out to where the victim was found. "That's when I saw the blood. I freaked out, like... and I thought I'd better call the cops!" He said staggering.

"Did you see anyone else on the docks?" Jones asked.

"Nah. That part of the river's always deserted. That's why I was surprised to find someone there..." James answered.

"Well then, thank you James."

"That wasn't I expected." Jones said.

"What do you think?" I asked. "The killer's a bit clever not to leave a murder weapon." He said.

"I've got several things for you. Dan was stabbed in the stomach with a sharp object, probably a knife." Nathan noted.

"Obviously, yes." Jones sneered.

"From the angle of the wounds, I can already tell you that your killer is left-handed!" Nathan smiled.

Jones and I were surprised finding him that. "You can't seriously see that from a gash, can you?!" He snorted.

Nathan grinned. "I wouldn't work here if I couldn't."

"He's serious." I muttered.

"I also found some red hair under Dan's fingernails. Needless to say, those weren't his. Which means your killer is a redhead!" He added.

"Great, just what we want for additional information." I smiled.

"So our killer is left-handed and read head. But no murder weapon." I noted.

"Yet." Jones added. "At least we're moving further in this investigation. In any case can you fixed that." He pointed out the badge.

"Yup." I said and started to work on it.

After a few minutes, I've put the pieces back together, revealing a skull badge. "Well that was fast! Great job, Keirah!" He noted.

"This being said... A skull badge, really? Are we still in the 80s?" He wondered.

"This seems familiar, maybe I've seen some people wearing this." I said.

"You're right, this badge didn't get on our crime scene by chance. Let's send it to the lab for analysis." He said.

"Hey Alex!" I greeted. "Hey!" He replied. "Would you mind analyzing this?" I handed him the badge. "I wasn't interupting something was I?" I stared on his large monitor, he's playing an arcade game? "Sorry I got bored." He grinned. "No worries, this won't take long."

Then I started to examine Dan's wallet. I search through the pockets and found a calling card. "What did you find, Keirah?" Jones peered in. "Hey, I know that address, it's in Caribou Corner! We're often called there for ODs and fights. Not the safest neighborhood..." He added.

"Let's go see Gloria, she's the building superintendent. With a bit of luck she'll recognize Dan!"

"Guys! I have some news for you regarding the badge!" Alex called out. "Your badge was covered with Dan's fingerprints... but only on its backside, as if Dan had grabbed it during the struggle." He added. "And there are no holes on Dan's shirt, meaning he ripped the badge off his killer's clothes!"

"Right! Will add that up to my info." I noted. "Thanks Alex!"

Just like Jones said this is not the safest place. Worse than Cooperville. You never want to walk on the narrow alleys in this place.

A brown haired woman with curlers around and wearing a pink robe appeared to us when the door opened. Jones smiled "Gloria! My favourite superintendent in this dodgy neighborhood." He greeted. Gloria gave a wide grin and hugged him. She looks in a mid 40s and she had a blue eyeshadows and red lips. "Long time no see honey!" She said.

"And oh, who's your new partner?" She glanced. "This is Deputy Silvers." Jones said.

"Nice to meet you, honey." She gave me a handshake.

"We have some questions Ms. Gloria, it's about Dan Broke." I asked smiling.

She nodded. "Oh yes, I knew him, he's my tenant for a long time. His girlfriend was on the third floor. Got on the trouble again?" Her eyes widened.

"Actually, he's dead." Jones said.

"Oh!" Gloria blinked. "Oh well, at least he won't be throwing up on the stairs anymore, right?" She said.

"Your grief is touching, Gloria. What's his girlfriend's name?" Jones asked.

"Sally Stone. She lives in apartment 315. And I'll be here if you need to..." She grinned. "Interrogate me some more, honey." she added.

"We'll be back." Jones chuckled. "Thanks."

We head upstairs, apartment 315. Jones knocked on the door. "Go away! I made my payment earlier!" A female voice shouted. "Uhh. We're looking for Sally Stone." Jones said.

"Who the hell are you?!" The woman yelled inside.

"Grimsborough P.D. we need to ask you about something important." Jones said in a serious tone. Finally the door opened. Appearing to be a red head girl, her hair was short. A cross earring was dangling on her right ear, she wears a navy blue t-shirt with skull print, and grey hoodie. I also noticed that she wore a badge same to the one I found on the crime scene.

She stared at us. "What?" Her mouth agaped. "Have you known Dan Broke?" Jone asked.

"I... I don't know any Dan." She stuttered. "Really? Your superintendent told us you were dating." Jones raised his brow.

Sally frowned. "Mrs Roach is an old witch, always snooping around, telling stories! She should learn to keep her ugly nose out of other people's lives!" She shouted.

"All the same, Deputy Keirah and I are going to have a quick look around your studio, miss." Jones said.

"What?! You can't do that..."

"This is for an investigation, Ms. Stone." I said. She couldn't stop us. I searched on the living room and found nothing so far. But noticing the bag over the couch feels like I have to inspect it. "Jones we might want to check this." I called, holding the bag. "Nice catch, Deputy Keirah! Miss, we're going to have a look at your bag." Jones said.

"What? You can't do that! This is mine! ...I want to see a warrant. I know my rights!" Sally shouted grabbing the bag.

"That's sweet. We'll return your bag to you when we're done." Jones grabbed the bag and handed it to me.

She sighed and I started to inspect the bag. Besides some make up thingies I found also a bracelet that has Dan's name on it. I turned to show it to Jones. "Keirah, I think you've struck gold with that bag!" He noted.

"So Sally, you were saying you don't know any Dan? But who's this Dan on your bracelet?" He asked her. She widened her eyes. "This bracelet isn't mine. I don't know how it got in my bag!" She stattered.

Jones frowned. "Look, there's only so much bullshit we can take. Stop lying and tell us what you know!"

Sally was taken aback by Jones' remark. "Alright! Me and Dan were dating." She sighed. "But I hadn't seen him in days, and I don't know who killed him!" She added.

We glanced up to her. "...you know, we never told you Dan had been murdered." Jones furrowed.

"Why else would you be here? Cops only pay attention to people like us when we're DEAD!" She wailed.

I felt sad for Sally, she seems to have a stressful life. Especially now that her love one died. She may be had a point on what she've said. Cops paying attention _only_ when someone's dead? We couldn't know for sure how everything might end up. We serve and protect but that wasn't enough. Surely, because we're living in a harsh world, were injustice is mundane.

"Something's wrong?" Jones noticed my silence as we drove off.

I smiled. "I guess we gave Sally a hard time."

"She's having a hard time already... Although, I'm really sorry for her, to what happened to Dan." He said.

"So! Deputy Silvers, Jones, how is this case going? Have you found Dan's killer yet?" Chief King peered in the office. Right timing, coz we're on the verge of discussion regarding the case. "It's a... slow start, chief. We found Dan's girlfriend, Sally, and we know his killer was left-handed. That's pretty much it." Jones rubbed his nape. Chief King came in. "At least that rules out Gloria, she's right-handed. Not that she was a likely suspect anyway." Jones added.

Chief King smiled. "Likely suspect or not, a good police officer follows every lead. Always remember that, Deputy Silvers!" Did I just saw his sweetest smile? I nodded and smiled back. "Got it Chief."

"And now I would like you both to have another look at the crime scene. Dan died in front of an open container, you might find more clues in there." He said.

"Will be there Chief!" Jones noted, Chief King smiled and leave.

"Well, seems he's in a good mood." I whispered.

"Right. A very rare sight eh?" He chuckled.

"I just wish he's always smiles like that." I smiled.

We head back to the Dock and inspect the area near the container where Dan found. We found some trashes and old litters around, but what caught me is the cigarette butt that looks a bit fresh. "Jones isn't it odd to have a cigarette butt here if no one's been here all along?" I showed him the evidence. "A cigarette butt? Didn't James say nobody EVER comes here?" He noted. "That's what I'm thinking. If no one's been here then why does it look a bit fresh?" I stated.

"I agree with you, Keirah. Let's have a closer look at this. It may well prove interesting."

I reached out to my tools and track down the prints. After a few minutes, I gave the prints to Jones. "Clever call, Keirah! DNA would take hours to process, but the fingerprint you collected from that cigarette butt might give us a suspect in a matter of minutes!"

We head to the lab to send the prints to Alex.

While Alex decipher the prints, I reviewed the documents and files. Almost all of the killers profile matches to a certain person we talked to. "Uhh... Jones. Did you notice that Sally was wearing a skull badge?" I asked. "Yeah. It also matches her inner." He said.

"And it's the same as we found in the crime scene." I noted. "You're right." He pursed his lip.

"It's possible that she may have killed Dan, but something's missing?" I noted.

"Could be. But all the evidence leads to her and is there any reason she wouldn't kill Dan?" Jones said.

"We're gonna have to find more evidence." I said.

"Hey guys! I got news!" Alex came in after. "The fingerprint you found on that cigarette butt matches the prints of a certain James Smith." He read the document and handed it to Jones. "Oh. I'd been hoping for something different..." Jones sneered. "But you know, Keirah, this cigarette is the perfect opportunity to put some pressure on James."

"I bet." I raised my brow.

"He looked really fidgety when we first talked to him, and I don't think it had to do with the fact he discovered the body. I'm sure he's keeping stuff from us." I thought I wasn't the only one who noticed that.

James Smith was already on the interrogation room when we arrived. He's still a bit fidgety when he saw us coming. Jones seated in front of him. I stayed behind them, let Jones do the talking, he's good at it. Asking him about the cigarette butt we found. "Y-yes, I smoked that cigarette while I was waiting for the police to show up, after I found the body. Am I going to get a fine for littering?" James answered. "Contaminating a crime scene is a serious offense." Jones placed his hand on his chin. James stared, mouth agaped.

"But we might forget about it, if you cooperate. Are you a righty or a lefty, James?" Jones grinned.

James blinked. "... I'm right-handed, but, uh, what's that got to do with your dead guy?" He asked.

"Let us worry about that. Now, are you SURE there's nothing you'd like to tell us?" Jones asked.

James puckered his brows. "I, uh... Well there is ONE thing, like, that I found. Next to the body. Maybe... maybe you need it?" he reached from his pocket and placed a small bag. I take a closer look at it following Jones' gazed. "I knew it! ... Either that's a drug package, or I'm the Queen of England! I can't make out what's written on it... Deputy Keirah, what do you see?"

"Seems like a drug package... Why did you bring this up just now?" I asked James. "I...I'm sorry, I don't know what to do. I was in panic and I forgot to mention that in the first place." James out waved his hands.

"Okay, for now, we'll excuse you for that, thanks for cooperation by the way." Jones said.

I proceed to check up the package and found a code. DOG-KTX 2ED? I wrote it down. "Great job, Keirah! I just wish the code on that drug package wasn't a total mystery!"

"I guess we don't have any other choice..." He added. "We must go see Bart."

"Who's Bart?" I wondered.

"He's our snitch in Caribou Corner; knows everything that's happening there." Jones answered.

"Oh..." I blinked.

He furrowed. "It's just that he really, REALLY gets on my nerves. Cocky son of a..." I glared at him.

He chuckled. "But anyway! Maybe we also should have a better look at Sally's studio later. She's clearly keeping stuff away from us."

Bart stared around the room, his green eyes looked intently, he wears a light red jacket and white inner. "What do I get if I help you out?" Bart chewed on his gum. "I can't tell you that, but I can tell you what you won't get: my boot in your face." Jones snickered. Bart scratch his already disheveled dark hair. "...alright. Show me the code." He cocked his head.

I handed him the note. "Oh yeah, I know this..." He smirked. "That's Bulldog's handle! He mostly deals in Oakville alley, behind Kempe's Barbershop."

"One last thing: that badge, on your jacket, where did you get it?" Jones asked regarding on the badge pinned on his left side of the jacket.

"What, this? Dude, EVERYONE wears them, it's the latest fad. You really don't know anything, do you?" Bart snorted.

"You didn't answer my question! You..." Jones leaned down to Bart. "Alright! Let's take it from here!" I cut out, pulling Jones.

"You know, I really wish Bart had red hair..." Jones muttered. "Why? Because he's left-handed of course!"

"That and red hair would have been enough to get him a few hours behind bars, as a suspect." He added.

"Seriously. Don't be a Jerk." I rolled my eyes.

"Ah, if only..." He pouted. "Anyway! Let's go see this Bulldog he told us about!"

Bart was right, we found Bulldog at the Oakville Alley. He so tall and tough looking guy. He has a nose bull ring, ear stretchers and a red haired beard as well. A badge skull was pinned on his right denim jacket. He also has a tattoo on his neck, some kind of a B signature with a punk collar around it. Jones began to asked him about Dan Broke. "Wait, so a stupid junkie's found dead miles away from here with a piece of paper... how exactly is this supposed to implicate me again?" He snorted. "Don't play smart with me, Bulldog! We know you were Dan's dealer!" Jones hissed.

Bulldog raised his brow. He's so towering even Jones looked up to him. "Oh really? Do you see drugs on me? What kind of moron do you think I am?!" He hissed back.

"A pretty big one. Step aside, we need to take a look around this alley, or should I say your "office"?" Jones said. Bart squinted as we passed by. He then left us muttering.

I searched beside on the trash bin. "That's pretty sure is one of your frenemies." I remarked. "Say, seems all the people in Grimsborough pisses you Jones."

"That's one of the perks of being a cop Kei." He sneered.

I laughed as I searched through. I found a poster beneath the junks and it was covered with blood. "Jones, this gives me the chill." He turned. "Keirah, I'm impressed. The blood on this poster is still fresh, and it might very well belong to Dan!" He said. "I guess so, but how does it end up here." I said as I collected the sample.

"I just hope that poster's not a red-herring." He noted. "Let's get this blood to the lab and find out!"

We gave the sample to Grace and headed to check on Sally. "What are you doing here again?" She asked. "We just want to check up your studio Sally, in case we might find anything about Dan, we need your cooperation for Dan's sake. If you really want to find his Killer then you will help us." I told her. Jones let me do the talking, he was still on the hang of her. "I am telling the truth, I never killed Dan. Go on and search something if you find anything at all!" She said.

We head in and inspect the area. I looked to her side of the bed and found the shoes. I looked at it, finding a soil and dirt around. "Jones, we could track her down by this." I held up the shoes. "Nice. We could send the soil sample so we could track down her moves." He said as I took out the sample.

"Are you done?" Sally asked in an indignant tone. "Yes, this will be enough. Thank you." I said.

"I'm telling you, I would never kill Dan." She said. "Let's see about that when we're done testing the sample." Jones said.

"Tests are positive: the blood is Dan's." Grace announced. "You've got your primary crime scene, guys. Dan was killed in Oakville alley, then dumped on the docks!"

"Maybe, that's why we couldn't find the murder weapon. But we've search the area and found nothing other than that poster." I said.

"Well, Keirah, Bulldog's just earned himself another visit!" Jones said.

"Wait. I also got something on the soil sample." Grace halted. "I compared it with samples taken from the docks and found similiarities... but there's something more troubling."

"I also found traces of Dan's blood in the dirt! So, not only was Sally with Dan when he died..."

"...but she may be his killer! Keirah, I think little Sally has got some explaining to do..." Jones remarked.

"So who do we start first? Bulldog or Sally's?" I raised my brow. "Bulldog first!" Jones furrowed.

"Oh looksie, here comes the Incompetent Parade." Bulldog snickered. "Look, asswipe, you're getting on my nerves and I can guarantee you won't like me when I'm angry." Jones said, annoyed. "Dan's blood is all over a trashbin in the alley where you "work"! Any idea how it got there?"

Bulldog frowned. "No, and I don't give a crap about it. Now get off!" He pushed Jones over and walked out.

"This isn't over, Bulldog. One way or another, I'll make your life a living hell!" Jones shouted, but Bulldog never turned he just gave us a bitter response.

Jones turned back and rubbed his head. "Remember, Deputy Keirah, getting suspects angry often yields interesting results..." He smirked. "You always made your suspects angry." I noted.

"Did you see which hand our friend Bulldog gave us the finger with when he left? He's left-handed!" He whispered.

"Right!" I smiled.

Now the second suspect. "I'm afraid the evidences claimed that you were with Dan when he died. The soil sample that we collected on your shoes matches on the Docks." Jones remarked. Sally began to tremble. "Why won't you leave me alone?! Yes, I was on the docks last night! I found Dan, but when I realized he was dead, I freaked out! I ran away!" She said.

"And you just HAPPENED to hang out on that godforsaken place at the exact time Dan was dying?! Come on, Sally!" Jones grilled in.

Sally began to cry. "I... I... I got lost, looking for him! I didn't hurt him, okay? I loved him! Now leave me ALONE!" she wailed. I looked at Jones signalling him to get back.

Jones turned and sigh. The door banged closed. "I know, I shouldn't make girls cry... but a little more of that and I'm sure she'll come clean!" Jones said.

"She's really distressed." I noted.

"What's more, did you notice? Sally's wearing her watch on her right wrist..."

"She's wearing the watch on the right wrist." I noted. "Which means she also might be the one." I sighed.

"Alright, the killer's lefty, red haired, and has a skull badge. Which leads to only two people. Sally and Bulldog." I sighed, reviewing the documents. "So much information for such suspects." Jones added.

"Face it, officers, you won't get anything more from Bulldog and Sally." We halted on Chief King's remark. He held on the documents on my desk and look at it. "What? No, we're so close! I'm sure we can make them spill the beans!" Jones pleaded. "In a week, maybe, but we don't have a week! No, what you NEED right now is a murder weapon!" Chief King noted. We nodded. "You've found the bloody poster beside the trash bin right? Silvers." He asked. "Yes, Sir." I said.

"Go back to the alley! Anything could be hidden in those trashbins!" He ordered.

"Why does trash bins has the mystery of clues." I said as we dig down on the trash. "Coz killers thought this might the lesser we thought." Jones said.

"Right." I groaned. Cans, receipts, straws, papers, etc. what else could we find here. Then a pocket knife? I took another look, and _it is_ a knife. And traces of blood could be seen on it. "Jackpot! A knife, and it's got traces of blood on the blade! How much are you ready to bet this blood is Dan's?" Jones said with triuamph. We head back to the lab to take some sample. "All done!" I said. "Perfect job as always, Keirah! When I think of how long it took ME to master those procedures..." He said and I smirked.

"Send it to Grace. I'm sure that knife was used to kill Dan, we just need to prove it!" He said.

"I've got good news! Not only is this knife covered in Dan's blood, but Nathan confirms it matches the wounds on Dan's body!" Grace said after a while.

"Officers, you've got your murder weapon!" She added. "Just like we thought." Jones noted.

"As for who it might belong to... I took a closer look at the blade; there's a weird symbol etched on it. Does it look familiar to either of you?" She handed over the knife, looking at it closely, there was a familiar carving of B. "Of course!" I widened my eyes. "I believe it does, yes! Deputy Keirah, time to put that killer behind bars!" He said.

"The game is up, Bulldog! We know you killed Dan. WHY you killed him, however..." Jones said. Bulldog frowned and stared at us, like we accused him. "We found the evidences, and all of it leads to you, obviously, the knife was even yours." I said.

He sighed. "That punk had it coming! I TOLD him it'd get nasty if he didn't pay me the $2000 he owed me!"

Jones furrowed. "It's going to get even nastier very soon, for you at least." He held out the cuffs and turned in Bulldog. "Bulldog, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a Court of Law..."

The court hall was filled with indistinct discussions. Sally was there as she witness the file allegations on her boyfriend's murderer. She never turned her eye out on Bulldog. "Silence in Court! Mr... Bulldog, what do you have to say for yourself?" Judge Hall spoke. "*&ack lawyer said it all, didn't he? I'm a victim of circumstances! That crazed junkie came at me with his fists, I had to defend myself!" Bulldog said.

"You ought to take this more seriously. You took a human life! Does it mean nothing to you?!" Judge Hall said.

"Yeah, does it mean nothing?! How COULD you kill Dan, you BASTARD?! He was going to pay you back, he just needed a little more time!" Sally cried as the guards tried to hold her.

"I swear, I will kill you for this, Bulldog! I WILL KILL YOU!" She hissed.

"Young lady, calm down. There is no need for further bloodshed." Judge Hall cut.

She then raps the gavel. "Bulldog. For the murder of Dan Broke, the Court thereby sentences you to 20 years to life!" She filed.

"For doing this city a favor?" He said, cocky. "You're gonna cry for a f*ing parasite?! Burn in hell, all of you!" he shouted.

"Officers, take this man away. Court is adjourned!" Judge Hall ordered.

Bulldog never stop saying the words as he held up by the guards and walked out the court.

"Well, that's one murderer out for good, hopefully. I think we handled it all pretty well, don't you, Keirah?" Jones noted leaning on the cubicle. "I'd say, there's still a bunch of jerks out there to be pinned down." I said. clearing my desk. "I'm going to get crazy if the case didn't solved." I snickered. "But we did it. Thanks to Chief King's motivation." He said. I plopped down on my desk, after such a stressful case, I feel a bit tired, and famish. "I want to eat. The case took all my energy." I joked. "What do you say we go out for a cup of coffee? The doughnuts are on me!" He offered. "Good idea!" I smiled.

"Deputy Silvers, Jones, splendid job on that case!" Chief King remarked. "However, don't forget that you're working for the citizens of Grimsborough City. I'm sure some of them still need your help!"

"We're on it Sir." I said enthusiastically.

"That's the spirit!" Jones grinned.

"I want you to check up the others and the crime scenes for the last time. See if there are anything suspicous you might get." Chief King said handing a document to Jones. We nodded and bid a salute.

We head back to the Docks and saw James getting busy on his job. "Oh, there you are! Inspectors, I really need your help here!" He said as we came in. "Right timing!" I commented. "What's wrong, Mr Smith?" Jones asked.

"Your guys have completely shut down the docks, but I lost my delivery form there! How am I supposed to keep my job if I don't know where to go?!" James rubbed his head.

" I see. We'll see what we can do, ok?" Jones said. He turned. "Keirah, can you go ahead to the docks? I'll finish that report for King and be right with you!" He smiled.

"Got it!" I nodded and began to do the job.

I came back to the area near the container, cans, old newspapers, junks etc. but no form to be found, then I proceed to the old table on the front, shoving some trash, then, finally found it! But looks a bit mess.

"Jones I guess this is what we're looking for." I said.

"Good job on finding that delivery form so fast, Keirah! Let's get it to James!" Jones said.

We found James, waiting on his barge. "Mr Smith, good news! Deputy Keirah has found your delivery form!" Jones said handing him the form.

James smiled. "Cool, thank y- Oh crap. Crap!" He stared.

"What?" Jones asked.

"The paper's soaked through, I can't read the delivery address! ...what am I going to DO?!" James eyes widened.

"Gee, you really need to chill out, you know..." Jones said.

"You don't understand, I could lose my job for this! + *k! I'm dead, they'll fire me this time, for sure!" He panicked.

"Actually, you're in luck. Deputy Keirah is the best decipherer I know! They'll have that address straightened out in no time, won't you Keirah?" Jones said wryly.

I stared at him. "Me?"

"I know you can!" He leaned over. I pouted.

"Alright. Mr. Smith, I'll try to work it out." I smiled.

"Since when I am best, in deciphering?" I raised my brow as we turned back to the Dock to find some spot. "Since you became my partner." Jones commented, I blushed. "Seriously?"

I started to track the code and with the help of Alex' gadgets, I deciphered the address in a few minutes.

"Here you go Boss! Just as you wanted." I said sarcastically.

"Well, what did I tell you? You really have some magic in this." He snickered.

"There you go, Mr Smith, here is your delivery address! Didn't I tell you Deputy Keirah was the best?" I blushed on Jones' remark.

"Phew! Thanks guys, you just saved my neck!" James sighed a relief.

"No problem at all." I smiled.

"Oh wait. Please, take this, as thanks!" He handed me a yellow raincoat.

"You might gonna use it. _For rainy days_." James chuckled.

"Certainly." I smiled. "Thanks!"

We head to check up Sally after. She still getting the hang on everything. "Not you again! What, are you here to tell me, someone else I loved just died?!" She said when she saw us.

"Sally, Deputy Keirah and me just wanted to check up on you, see how you were holding up..."

"I'm NOT holding up! I can't even find those stupid antidepressants that damn doctor gave me! I... I..."

"Calm down Dear." I patted her back. "We're gonna help you find it." She stopped crying and looked at me.

"... Listen, why don't you go for a walk, take the fresh air? Deputy Keirah has a sixth sense when it comes to finding stuff, I'm sure they can find your pills!" Jones smiled.

"You'd do that for me?" She glanced at us. I smiled and nodded. "Thanks." She said and left.

I started to inspect her living room. I checked on the couch and found nothing but her bag and stuff around it. I proceed to check on her table. I found a grocery bag clumsily placed over and inspect it. "I've been thinking that clues usually found in a stuff like this." I snorted as I search through. "I think you're right. The pills may be in there." Jones said.

"What did I tell you?" I smirked, handling the pills to Jones. "You're a genius. You do have a six sense. Do you?" He said wryly. "Will you believe me if I say so?" I smirked and he blinked. "Just kidding, I say, we should give it to Sally..."

"Wait! what if they're not really antidepressants? I mean, with Dan's past... you won't make me believe Sally doesn't take drugs." Jones noted. I blinked. "What makes you think of that?"

"It could be that she might using one." He said. "She won't be back for a while. What do you think, Keirah? Maybe we could take these to Grace, see if they're safe..." He murmured.

"What if she came back and we're not here." I stated as I followed him outside.

"Don't worry this won't take long."

We drive back to the lab and gave the sample for Grace. While we wait, we decided to head back to Sally's apartment. Just then Grace called. "Alright, I've got your results. Those pills really are antidepressants. The girl didn't lie." Grace said on the line.

"Well that's a relief! Thanks a lot Grace, we won't forget this!" He hang up.

"So?" I raised my brows. "Sally's not lying about the pills, it's not drugs." He answered.

"You should stop doubting someone, especially when they're distressed."I blurted.

"What? Some people in Grimsborough are not a trusting type." He remarked and I raised my brow.

"We should give this to Sally." He added.

We found Sally on her doorway, and seems looking for us. "Where were you? Didn't you find my pills?" She asked as we came in.

"We did, don't worry! I told you, Deputy Keirah's the best at finding lost objects!" He said and handed the pills. "But be careful with the dosage, ok?" He grinned.

Sally smiled, finally, the look of relief. "I will, don't worry."

"I think... I think I'm going to go to my parents' for a while, get away from all this." She added.

"That would be good. Go try something new. You'll get away from this, eventually." I smiled.

"Thanks again, Deputy Silvers, Officer Jones! I won't forget this! Here, please, take this, for your time!" She gave us some of her stock of grocery.

"Thank you." We smiled.

"What I notice in people of Grimsborough... Is they're so generous." I remarked as we get in the car. "Really?" Jones made a crooked smile. "It's coz they're returning the favor."

"And that's a good way." I said. "This town might not be the safest place, but there are still people who return the favor, a good one."

"Like us." He grinned.

"Okay, like us." I rolled my eyes.

"We should head on check on Bart Williams." I said.

"As you say Ma'am." He smiled.

"Oh great, just the people I needed! I've lost my wallet, you've got to help me get it back!" Bart said.

Jones raised his brow. "And what makes you think we'd want to help YOU, exactly?"

"Oh come on! You know the Vipers are heavy in these streets! They tolerated Bulldog, but they've never exactly warmed up to me. I don't want to die for a freaking wallet!" Bart exclaimed.

"So you want us to do the job?" Jones snickered.

"... You're lucky, we've just solved a case and I'm in a good mood. But you'd better have something good for us in exchange!" He added. I nudged him.

"Okay, Keirah and I will do that." He answered.

Bart's face enlightened. "Thanks man! Just in case, it is dark brown and leather."

"Finding a wallet wasn't easy, especially in this kind of place." Jones noted as we stared on the backstreet. Pile of trash lined on the corner of the street, The trash bin was full and I don't even think to dig and search on that. "For a moment I agree. But it's our job to help people." I said.

"Okay." He rolled his eyes and we started the search. "Don't make me dig on those trash Jones." I warned him as I knelt on an old wooden box surounded with rotten fruits. I flinched on the smell. I shoved off the trash and finally, "Aha!" I take the what seemed to a wallet on a pile of papers and cartons. Dark brown and leather, yes it is! "This might be his." I said to Jones.

"Great, you found the wallet." He said. "Hey, Keirah, what do you say we... have a look at it?"

I glanced. "I didn't signed to pry in to someone's belongings. This is considered to be a personal." saying it, I began to feel guilty on barging in Sally's bag, though it's a different case.

"Come ooon, I'm SURE Bart's hiding stuff from us! Just a little look, okay?" He pouted, trying to make a puppy eye. "Stop it. You look stupid." I bluntly said. "Okay. If Bart knew this, it's not my responsiblity."

He nodded. "Great!"

We opened the wallet and saw some papers and receipts and a torn photograph? Who's this?

"Well would you look at that! I wonder why Bart keeps that torn photo in his wallet... I'm sure it's someone important!" He noted.

"Must be his girlfriend." I shrugged.

"Time to display your puzzled skill Keirah." He said.

"Wait. We shouldn't touch it!" I stared.

"Just in case, maybe we found something fishy on that." He answered. "C'mon."

I sighed and piece back the photo as he watched. I could finally see the image as I attached the last piece. "It's not a girl! But a man!" I said.

"Well would you look at that! I wonder why Bart keeps that torn photo in his wallet... I'm sure it's someone important!" He noted.

"Jones that tatoo!" I pointed the tattoo on the man's chest.

"Yep, I'll be damned if I know who's the guy on this picture, but he clearly belongs to the Vipers! Let's go grill Bart about it!" He said and we left.

"Bart, this is your lucky day, we've got your wallet!" Jones said. "Really?" Bart grinned.

"BUT... we also found a picture of one of the Vipers in it! You'd better tell us who this is, if you want your wallet back..." Jones showed the picture.

Bart gave a sharp glare on us. "Whoa, Jones, that's low, even for you." He squinted. He turned to me and I blinked. "And seeing the look on Deputy Silvers' face, they weren't the ones snooping around!"

"I mean what good is it, paying so many taxes, if cops search through your stuff..." He smirked, placing his hand on his chin.

"Yeah, like YOU pay taxes! Come on Bart, spill the beans!" Jones answered.

"Whatever." He sighed. "The guy on the picture is Salvador Cordero, the Vipers' new leader. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't know this already."

The leader? We exchange looks. "Holy Moly, I didn't expect him to be THAT important! The boss will be thrilled! Thanks Bart, here's your wallet!"

Things here are getting nasty. I have feeling we're getting close to the Vipers case.

 **A/N: I've censored some of the curse words. So I've changed them into this *! #$%^ &*() or I just make some letters blank. Sorry I hate using extreme curse words. **


	7. The Russian Case

The Russian Case

After the dockyard case, finding answers on the gangs case seems a mere chance. I couldn't find anything on the said leader of the Vipers, Salvadore Cordero. His profile hasn't had enough data. But I'm pretty sure we're almost there.

"Hey Keirah! Ready for a new case!" Jones snapped out. "You really have enthusiasm finding those Vipers." He noted seeing my screen.

"I'm not only seizing this gang, there's still a bunch of gangster that we need to hold up." I said. "It's just these jerks were on my first lists."

"It's about your parents' case isn't it?" He said.

I shrugged. "Not really. I know that was a long time ago, and I know it won't matter anymore. Their case was unclosed but, they're gone, and maybe those Viper members were also dead, or old. I don't know."

"I just don't want to happen it to someone again. These mobsters are there, they live their life like they own this city. They don't care for everyone as long as they gain for their own."

"Hope you never lose that spirit Keirah." Jones commented.

I smiled. "Hey. I have an affirmation. Now let's go and see Chief."

"There you are Deputy Silvers and Jones." Chief King greeted as we enter. "We have a serious situation here, Anton "White Bear" Levin, the Russian Mafia's head, was killed in his restaurant!"

"A Mafia's head?" I widened my eyes.

"It is really serious." Jones noted.

"If we don't find the killer really soon, we'll have a bunch of bloodthirsty Russians on the loose! You two are our best shot. So handle this cautiously, but quickly!" Chief King ordered.

"I see, no pressure... Don't worry Chief, we will do our best. Right Keirah?" Jones grinned.

"Right you are!" I nodded.

"We should head straight to the Levin's before his henchmen mess up the crime scene. Let's go!" Jones said as we walked fast on the hallway.

"Copy that!" I said.

We arrived at the site shortly. The Levin's Resto seems a bit fancy but not that classy. We secure the restaurant, placing the yellow police tapes around. We head inside and found Anton's body on the corner of the counter. "What a mess... Levin has been reduced to a pulp! The killer obviously held serious grudges against him." Jones said. Seeing the whole bar, seems riot has happened here. "Still it could be a robbery that turned ugly. I've noticed that the register's empty." He added inspecting the counter. "Obviously. It is." I seconded.

"But they didn't steal his phone though." I added. Judging the phone, its screen was broke, maybe the impact of the smash from the killer got into it too. The forensics came and brought the body to the ambulance.

"The autopsy and that phone will hopefully tell us more about what happened here." He said.

I checked the phone if it still works and it turned on. Yet, it was password protected. "Dammit! The phone still works, but it's locked..." Jones said. "Lets see..." I tried to type down a certain password, first attempt was failed. Then I reached for my gadget to hack it. One more try and it worked! "Tada!" I grinned.

"Good job! You really are good at techs." His mouth agape. "Now that you've cracked the password, we can hand it over to Alex and see if he can salvage anything from it." He said.

"Well guys, I identified the phone as belonging to your victim, and you won't believe what I found on it!" Alex showed the photo and zoomed it in. "That's!" I agape. Jones widened his eyes. "What the... A picture of Tony Marconi?! And who's the man he's speaking to?" The man looks neatly dress in a white suit.

"No idea... I couldn't find the guy in our database." Alex said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Marconi will be more than happy to tell us about his friend. Time to pay him a courtesy visit." Jones furrowed.

Just as we leave Alex, Jones' phone rang. "Yeah, What you get Nate?" Jones stops, and tapped the loudspeaker so I could also hear it. "I've counted 36 oddly shaped wounds on the body, but couldn't figure out what weapon was used." Nathan answered. "However, judging from the penetration angle, i can say the murderer is 6'0'' tall."

"Also, I've found some skin cells under his fingernails. Obviously, Anton died fighting."

"The sample is useless, but it shows your killer will have scratches!"

"Scratches? Interesting, it will make our killer's profiling a lot easier." Jones noted. "Thanks! Nathan!"

"So the killer was 6 ft. tall and could have a scratch." I stated.

"That would'nt be enough information but it might help." Jones said.

"I was also told that Levin had a son, Mikhail. We should let him know his father's dead, what do you think?" He said and I nodded.

Jones knocked on the door apartment of Mikhail Levin. The door opened, revealing a young man with a short blond hair, cold blue eyes and narrowed jaw. He wears a black jumper as inner and a hooded jacket. He wears a gold chain necklace which covers a scratch. A scratch?

Jones held out his badge. "Officer Jones and Silvers of GPD." He said.

"Mr Levin, I'm sorry to inform you that your father was found dead." He added.

Mikhail raised his brows. "What?!" He smirked. "AH! Good riddance! This SVOLOCHE sure didn't see that coming!"

That wasn't expected. Should he supposed to be in panic or whined for his father's death!

"Wow... You're a cold one for sure!" Jones noted.

"You must be having a hard time on him." I added.

"My father and I didn't get along. He never considered me worthy of anything. I bet that old bastard regrets not having me by his side, now." He furrowed.

"Any idea who could have killed him?" Jones asked.

"Not a clue. But you'd better find his killer before I do. Even if I hated him, he still was my father, and his death can't stay unavenged!" Mikhail said.

"Would you mind if we look around in your apartment?" Jones said.

"Go ahead. You won't find anything suspicious at all." He ushered us in.

We started to inspect the living room. I inspect the side of the fireplace. I found what seems to be a torn carton of pregnancy test. A pregnancy test box? I tried to figure it, if it's really what I think it is.

"Jones, this smells a clue to me." I said as he came.

"It looks like someone tried hard to make this unrecognizable..."

I tried to piece it back together and yes, my suspicion was right. It was pregnancy test box!

"Just as I thought!" I muttered.

"A pregnancy test box? Mikhail didn't mention having a girlfriend." Jones said loftily. "You know what, Keirah? It's a long shot, but we should ask Mikhail about her. Maybe she would be more willing to talk than him."

"Mikhail, you never mentioned you had a girlfriend?" Jones asked.

"Yeah, I've got a girlfriend, Eva. Not that it is any of your beeswax. She'll come back from work later if you want to bother her too." He answered.

"We will. What about these scratches on your chest?" Jones asked.

Mikhail smirked. "That's Eva's job... I like it rough!"

We contacted his girlfriend, Eva, for an interrogaton later. Eva Coleman was her name as Mikhail mentioned before we left. We head back to HQ and Ramirez approached us.

"There you are Officers! Marconi is waiting for you in the interrogation room." He said.

"Great! Let's go grill this Marconi!" Jones said.

"What do you want you two... Miss me already?" Marconi snickered as we entered.

"You shouldn't smile, it makes you all wrinkly. Now, who's the guy with you on this picture?" Jones said showing off the photo.

Marconi snorted. "What the... I don't remember, so now you can take it and shove it."

"You think you play coy with us! Derp! Stop snooping around! We know you're involve on Levin's death!" Jones hissed.

"Heh! You think so?! Do you have any evidence!" Marconi said.

"That photo we found was on Anton Levin's phone, surely you must have known Levin? Do you?" I asked.

"I am a busy man, I have talked to everyone around here in town, who knows!" He answered. "Now if you're done wasting my time, I gotta go."

"What a son of a..." I tapped Jones' back, holding him up. "Easy there cowboy! Chill down." I said.

"I know him better than he thinks, and he clearly didn't expect us to have this picture." Jones clenched on the photo. "I'm SURE he's got something to do with Levin's death!"

I grabbed the photo before it turned into a crunch. "Okay. Let's work it out!" I grinned, nudging him. "We better talked to Eva Coleman. She just arrived and waiting for us in the interrogation room. "That would be great!" He said.

We found her waiting in the room, she looks beautiful to be Mikhail's girl. An african american beauty, her long black hair fits her black pashmina or scarf and white dress. Though under that scarf seems to be a scratch?

"Anton is dead?" Eva's eyes widened, hearing the news.

"I take it you knew him well?" Jones noted.

Eva glanced. "What? No... We met only once, before Mikhail and him stopped seeing each other. Anton was a little extravagant, but... nice." She stuttered.

"Yeah... I bet he was, for a mobster. I'm sure he would have been the "perfect" grandfather... You're expecting, right? We found a pregnancy test box." Jones said.

Eva frowned. "That's none of your concern! So if you're done being nosy, I've got to go."

"Interesting reaction, don't you think Keirah? Compared to Mikhail, she seemed rather shaken by Anton's death." Jones commented. "Yeah, she maybe hiding something." I said.

"And did you see the scratches she's trying to hide with that scarf? It wouldn't surprise me if Mikhail was hitting her." He chuckled and I rolled my eyes.

"Well, Keirah, the identity and motives of Anton's killer are still a mystery. Even if we know Marconi is somehow involved, it's not much of a lead." Jones complained, shoving down the documents.

"There isn't much of the evidence... A height and a scratch, isn't much enough information, we couldn't find the murder weapon, yet." I noted.

"Hey guys, what about Bart Williams? He's been dealing close to your crime scene these days. He might know something!" We almost jump on Ramirez' remarks. We didn't even notice he was there.

"How long have you been there?" I asked.

"Uhh. Just a couple of seconds ago." Ramirez chuckled, rubbing his head. "So, why don't you ask Bart about snooping around the crime scene?"

"Oh, come on Ramirez... Bart is a pain in the ass. Everytime I see this kid, I come closer to losing it and whacking him." Jones furrowed.

"Why is he sneaking around the crime scene? Is he hiding something?" I wondered.

Jones sighed. "I guess we don't have any other option right now. Let's go, Keirah."

"I was just passing by, I know this place and I usually hang out here, then I saw these police lines around the restaurant, out of curiousity I just stopped by but I didn't barge in! I swear!" Bart waved his hands in defeat. "You better be honest kid. You said, you knew this place. So maybe you must knew this man?" Jones showed the photo.

"The guy on the picture? He was one of Levin's henchmen." Bart answered.

"You don't know his name, of course... Since you hang around here, did you see anything the night of the murder?" Jones said.

Bart placed his hand on his chin. "Maybe I did... I guess you could "refresh" my memory..."

"Bart, your ass is about to get a fresh memory of my foot. So cut the crap already!" Jones yell.

"Okay, okay, calm down! All I saw was someone dropping some stuff into the sewers outside the restaurant and running away." He explained.

"Sewers?" I wondered and looked around, I turned towards the side of the restaurant.

Jones followed. "Are you kidding me?" he muttered. I looked for a suitable entrance to the sewers. There was a manhole that could be a shortcut. "Could we open it?" I asked.

"Probably." Jones head to the car and get the crowbar. "This might work." He said and placed the crowbar to the hole. He lift it up with a full force. I peered in. "I swear, if this punk sent us off-track he's gonna get it!" He groaned. "I hate sewers... Let's try to find something in this mess before I get sick." he complained.

"Hopefully, we could." I noted.

"Hem... You go first, Keirah, I've got your back." He grinned.

I gave him a sharp glare."Seriously Jones? I will not do this alone!" I said.

"Don't worry, I'm at your back." He chuckled.

We step down through the stairs, the stench and the smell greeted us. We flinched on the smell, it was stronger than digging down in trash. I hate it. I tried to hold my breath. "We should start looking as fast as we can." I groaned. "You go ahead, I'll stay here to watch your back." He said, not following on the sewage. "Really, don't just stand there Jerk?" I said. "You're more handy in this." He pleaded. "Whatever!" I said and started the inspection. Wearing my gloves, I grossed out as I step on the puddled floors. We turned on the flashlight coz it's a bit dark. Trash and garbage are everywhere plus the smell, how am I supposed to search a clue here. I inspect with disgust. I could also hear Jones' muttered as he looked around. "Can't find anything on this mess." I said. "I swear, I'll gonna get sick." He answered.

I turned the flashlight on the sewage part and saw something glinting. As I walked towards it, I accidentally slipped on the puddle. Oh great! Not in the sewer! "Oh blast it!" I shouted, Jones quickly came and helped me up, laughing. "Not funny." I muttered. "What's the matter?" He chuckled. "I think I saw something here." I said and got up quickly. I took out what's seemed to be a golden watch? "Well done Keirah! See? I was right to let you do it! We should examine this gold watch and..." He placed the watch in the evidence bag.

"Eew... Yep, that's Levin's wallet, according to what's left of his ID..." He noted as I showed it to him.

I looked gross. "I never ever get back to that sewers again!" I muttered. "Neither do I." He added.

"You know, you probably should take a shower back at HQ..." He said as we head out. "After you let me do the dirty work?" I stared. "On the other hand, I might be. The stench seems to stick on the clothes either."

Back at the station, I started to examine the wallet after I cleaned up. Still, the wallet was so dirty so I had to put on a glove. I found something that looks familiar, an invoice? "What do you get?" Jones peered in. "An invoice... issued to the Blue Flamingo?" I said. "In Levin's wallet..." Jones noted. "That's Marconi's club!" I said. "I knew Marconi is somehow involve in this!" He furrowed. "There is a signature on it, but the ink is worn out. Let's show this invoice to Marconi, I'm curious to hear what he has to say about it."

"We found an invoice issued to your club in Levin's wallet, and I doubt HE signed it." Jones confronted Marconi. "Oh no, you got me..." Marconi said wryly. "I've done some business with the Russians, big deal. I'm gonna start thinking you really like me, if you keep coming to see me for no reason..."

"Ok, cut the crap "Mario"! We want to know whose signature this is!" Jones groaned.

Marconi let out a laugh. "I guess you'll have to find out yourselves then, pigs." He mocked.

Jones was fuming in rage so I pulled him out before he could do something unusual. "C'mon, we're just wasting our time here!" I muttered as I pulled him out.

"You want me to give you a chair to kick out?" I joked. Jones sighed. "He wanna play? We'll show him how it's done! Let's go back to HQ and analyze the crap out of this invoice!" He said as we head to the car.

"I'll drive. Much better if you chill down a bit." I said. He nodded. "Great idea Kei."

Alex took a few time to analyze the invoice but he did it. "Guys, the signature on the invoice belongs to a certain Dimitri Balanchine." Alex stated. "And this Dimitri must use a LOT of hand sanitizer. I've found traces of this product all over the paper! It's a detail, but it may be important." Grace entered. "That would be great info Grace." I said. "Dimitri might be involve on Levin's state." I added.

"You're right Keira, this Dimitri might be our man! I'll ask Ramirez to summon him for a little chat." Jones contacted Ramirez.

Dimitri sat calmly in a cross leg position as he wait. He's a sturdy man, wearing all white suit just like we saw on the photo. Does he liked the color white?

"Dimitri my name's David Jones, and this is Keirah Silvers." Jones greeted.

"You know why we called you here." He added. "Anton Levin was found dead on his restaurant." I could tell Dimitri smirks as Jones told him the details.

"What does it matter to me?" Dimitri said bluntly.

"We found a photo of you and Marconi, in Anton Levin's phone." I said. He looked at me, his deep blue eyes were deadpan but mocking. I also saw the scratches on his cheek. "Yes. That's me on the picture. So what? Marconi is a client like any other."

"Right! And I'm sure your former boss wasn't so happy to know you were doing business with his competitor." Jones said.

"Talking about business, that's none of yours, Officers." He raised his brow.

"One last thing... What are those scratches on your cheek?" Jones asked.

"Is it relevant to your subject?" He asked coldly.

"Not, unless you get that from fighting Anton." I said.

He smirks. "Such speculation you got there, Sweetie. But pity, I get these when I cut myself from shaving."

"Now, feel free to waste someone else's time." He said in a mocking tone.

Jones banged on his desk in disgust. "That's just it! These mobsters are getting on my nerves, giving me attitude like this!" He said fuming.

"Calm down. It won't help you solve the case." I said.

"Alright, alright... I'm calming down, ok? Geez..." He sighed. "Come on, let's go to the restaurant and see if we can dig up anything about Dimitri's "business"."

"That would be a good idea."

We head back to Levin's resto before night time. Jones searched on the counter while I inspect the tables. I looked underneath it and found a notebook placed under the table cloth. "A ledger?" I noted as I scanned the pages revealing some bank account. "A-HA! I'm sure this ledger will expose some dirty secrets. All entries are coded, but I'm sure Alex will crack it!" Jones said. "As for this bloody napkin I found under the counter, it may reveal something interesting!" he added. "Well done Deputy!"

We gave the ledger to Alex for some analysis. While I examine the bloody napkin. I found out to be different. "This blood had a pinkish color. Strange." I noted.

"Yes, you're right. Let's hand it over to Grace." He said, taking it.

"There you are!" Alex said. "It took me some time and a few headaches, but I've cracked the ledger's code. It's a list of orders and deliveries made by the Levin's restaurant." He announced.

"It looks like someone forged some of the ledger entries to cover up irregular transactions. What's more, the fake entries writing is the same as the one on invoice." he added.

"I knew it! Dimitri was scheming with Marconi against Levin, who found out. Let's go put that under Marconi's nose and see where it goes." Jones said.

"Mr. Marconi, we found your transaction entries to Anton's ledger. You and Dimitri seems really have good arrangements?" I asked.

"Your damn book proves nothing, Deputy." Marconi said coldly.

"Oh but it does! I don't know yet what your deal with Dimitri was all about, but Levin sure didn't like it!" Jones sneered. "Jones!" I sighed. I told him to let me do the chat this time, I know for sure this might not end up so good.

"Russian vodka and caviar at a "fair" price for my club, that's it. Nothing illegal in that. What Anton thought about it was Dimitri's concern." He snorted.

Jones eyed him. "Right... Because you would never even think about disposing of a reluctant business partner..."

"Don't be a smartass! You'll never have anything against me, and you know it!" Marconi said wryly.

It surprise me, if one day Jones had a good mood after talking to Marconi, just like earlier, Jones is much pissed even before. "The only thing that disgusts me more than Marconi is this disinfectant scent he carries around!" He complained. "I told you, to let me talk to him. You always end up pissed when you talked to him." I said.

"By the way, I never thought you dislike hand sanitizers?" I raised my brow.

"Not all of them. But I hate how its smells." He said.

"Have you noticed the scratches on his chest? And I'm sure these don't come from bad shaving skills..." He noted. "Anyway, I don't care what he says. We won't let him off the hook as easily as he thinks, right Keirah?"

We head back to the lab to see what Grace found out on the sample. While we wait, I inspect the gold watch we found on the sewers, it still looks good, for a second someone will be lucky to find this watch. I noticed some bit of a hair strand stuck around its bracelet. I carefully tweaked it out and placed it on the pouch. This might be a clue. "Here, a glimpse of hope maybe." I said handing the evidence pouch. "Nice catch. Of course, considering where we found the watch, this strand of hair could be anybody's..." He said.

"Judging by Anton, obviously, it wasn't from him." I sneered.

"But let's send it to Grace for analysis. We may be lucky!"

Just before we head to her lab, Grace came. "Hi!" she greeted.

"Nice timing! We're just heading to your lab." Jones inquired. "What do you get?"

"Yes. Not only does the blood on this napkin belong to your victim... But it also contains traces of hand sanitizer! The murderer must have used some to wipe his hands!" Grace answered.

"Great... Just about everyone in town uses this product." Jones muttered.

"We also would like to take a look at this hair strand we found on the watch." I said.

"Okay. This won't take long." Grace smiled.

"Thanks!" I said.

"Keirah, I'm positive the strand of hair you found on the watch belongs to an African-american woman!" Grace came in later.

"Keirah, that can't be a coincidence! I'm sure this is Eva Coleman's hair!" Jones glanced.

"If that's the case, she must have come into close contact with the victim for her hair to get stuck in his watch." Grace said.

"Might be, Eva may be hanging around with Anton. She lied to us!" I added.

"She definitely knew Levin better than she made us believe. Let's confront her!" Jones said.

"We've got proof you knew Levin more than you claimed... It's time to tell the truth, Eva." Jones stated.

Eva frowned. "That's true..."

"We have a proof, then how did your hair strand end up on Anton's watch?" I asked. Her eyes widened. "Care to tell what really is your relationship with Anton?"

She looked down. "Anton and I were having... an affair. It's his child I'm expecting."

"That's wasn't I expected!" Jones noted.

"I told him the day he died, but Mikhail doesn't know any of this. I had planned to leave him for Anton, but now..." Eva cried.

"This case is really getting sordid..." Jones shakes his head. "Should we tell Mikhail about it? And, Mikhail didn't knew? All this time?" I said.

"No use speaking to Mikhail about this for now though. Even if he knew, I doubt he would say anything until we can prove it." Jones said.

"We've made some progress Keirah. Not only do we know that Marconi and Dimitri had motives to kill Levin..." Jones noted.

"But it has become clear that Mikhail also had a good reason to do it." He added.

"What if he knows about it? He just keeping it." I crossed my arms.

"I don't know KEi." He sighed. "However, we still have few elements. Maybe we should take a closer look at Mikhail's place."

"Got it." I nodded, I took my jacket and we head outside.

"I may also have a plan to make Dimitri spill the beans!" He said as he start up the car. "Really? You think it'll work." I said. "Hopefully." He pursed his lip then manuevered the car.

"What now?" Mikhail complained. "We would like to check your place for some investigation." I said. He furrowed and let us in. I smell something familiar as we came in. I glanced up to Mikhail who's staring on us. That smell was like some kind of a hand sanitizer. I looked around as Jones proceed to inspect the fireplace. I looked around the entire living room and notice a hand sanitizer on the table. JAckpot! I take it and open it to smell. It smell was the same as MArconi's and Dimitri. "Jones looks like our guys were using the same brand of hand sanitizer." I muttered. I handed him the sanitizer and he tried to smell it. "Aarrgh! Yup that could be." He flinched.

"Now we know that Mikhail and Eva both use hand sanitizer, but that's no big help." He murmured.

"Maybe this old card will tell us more if we can salvage the phone number from it." He said, waving out the card he found. "Nice catch." I said.

"Well, I hope you've found anything suspicous!" Mikhail's words were filled with derision.

"Well, could be." Jones said. "Stick around." He added as we leave.

"Can you work out anything from this card?" He asked.

"My pleasure." I smiled and take the card.

I jotted down the number I've got from the card and hand it to Jones. "Here's what I've got." I said. "Great job with this card, Keirah! We've got our phone number! Now let's see if Alex can find it in the database." He added and we head back to HQ.

"The evidence leads to nowhere. I've check the info and almost all our guys have the preferences." I noted and slapped down the papers on the desk. "Well, more evidence might be lead to one of them soon. Hopefully, Alex will get the answer on the number you've got." Jones said.

"There you are guys!" Alex peered on the desk. "Hey, speaking of the genius, what do you get?" Jones grinned.

"Jones, you won't believe this: the phone number you gave me is Bart Williams'!" Alex raised his brows, shaking his head. We glanced up. "Bart Williams!" Jones yelled. "That's surprising." I noted.

Jones is fuming. "Sneaky little bastard. This time I'm kicking his ass! Keirah, let's go see him. You drive!" He banged his desk.

"Geez. Jones chill out." I said and followed him.

"We found your phone number at Mikhail's! I swear Bart, THIS is the last time you ever lie to me!" Jones hissed.

Bart waved his hands, backing away. "Wow, easy now! Mikhail is one of my best clients, I wasn't going to tell on him like that." He snorted.

Jones puckered his brows. "I don't give a crap! You speak now or I'm ending your business once and for all!" He yelled.

"Ok, ok! Mikhail called me the other day, he was freaking out about his girlfriend's affair and needed a fix to relax." Bart said.

"So Mikhail knew after all." I said, furrowing.

Jones pursed his lips. "Yes he did. Eva was wrong. He won't able to deny it now, we should go talk to him. C'mon Keirah lets give him a visit!"

Mikhail wears a grim look as Jones told everything we found out. "She cheated on me with my own father! He even got her pregnant! How would you react if it happened to you?!" he asked surly.

"I would go pretty mad I guess. Maybe enough to do something I'd regret..." Jones answered.

"You bet I was at first! But it wasn't her fault. My father was a sick bastard, he made her do this!" Mikhail said with dread. "Be sure I'd gladly thank the guy that took him out!" I noticed a slight smirk on his face.

"What do you think?" I asked as we get in the car.

He sighed. "I don't know Keirah. These jerks are getting on my nerves already."

"Mikhail might have a good motive to kill Anton though, but there's not much evidence _if_ he really killed him." I said. "So what now?"

"Where going to have a little chat to Dimitri. Might as well get him talk." He said and maneuvered the car.

"Ah! Here comes the underdog." Dimitri made a sarky remarked. "We had a little chat with your friend Marconi. He sold you out so fast we could hardly keep up!" Jones said wryly.

Dimitri raised his glorious eyebrow. "Did you seriously think I'd fall for that? Marconi knows better than that." He smirked.

"Whatever you say, we know of your deal with him. Anton was an obstacle you had to get rid of." Jones furrowed.

"Did I want his position? Yes. Did his death make my day? Definitely." Dimitri stated directly. Waving his hands gracefully.

"Now, Anton was dead, and seems your plans are working smoothly." I glared. I started to hate this guy.

He stared down at me, and made a crooked smile. "Indeed. Deary."

"But such a bloodshed? I'm more subtle when I "operate", and I'm definitely not stupid enough to leave a trail." he sneered.

"Damn this psychopath! Too smart for us, huh? I'm ready to take another dip in the sewers to prove him wrong!" Jones clenched.

"Wait? Really?" I scoffed.

"Yeah, let's go!" He said.

I would rather dig up a trash bin than to search through this sewer, but Jones was right, maybe we could find some answers here. I tried to hold up my breath as we searched through. And as we're getting close on the gutter the smell is getting stronger. "We've searched all over the sewage. Yet we found nothing." He sighed, covering his nose with his sleeve.

"Keep searching Jones!" I said as I went on the gutter.

Aargh. I groaned as I shoved off the litters flooded down. Just as I pushed down the trashes, I been scratch by something underneath. "Ouch!" I groaned as I flinched out my hand.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Jones came in.

"Yeah, I think." I waved my hand, shoving the pain off, good thing of wearing gloves. "Something got me." I said and digging up the thing. It was a meat tenderizer. "This wasn't looked like it's been here for over the years. It still looks good." I said.

"Great, we've got something at last! This meat tenderizer looks like it could be our murder weapon!" He noted, placing the tenderizer on the evidence bag.

"Look!" I said, picking up a gold chain.

" And there is a chance this gold chain belongs to the killer. Great job Keirah! Let's go back to the lab!"

We send the tenderizer to Nathan. I took a closer look on the gold chain and found a blood spots. "Jones, I better check out this blood sample." I said.

"Good idea Kei." he said.

"Here." I handed him the samples.

"Good job Keirah, this blood sample you found may lead us to the gold chain's owner!" Jones noted.

"Might as well be." I nodded.

While we wait for Grace to analyze the blood sample. Nathan came in with the results. "I have good news, and a bad news." Nathan said. "Okay bad news first." Jones cocked his head. "Unfortunately, the sewage washed off any fingerprints or usable sample from this meat tenderizer." Nathan answered. "Well that will be." Jones sighed.

"What's the good news?" I asked.

"The good news is, it matches Anton's wounds perfectly. You've found the murder weapon, good job!" Nathan grinned.

"Yeah that's great." Jones jeered.

"The blood you found on the chain belongs to the victim. However, its diameter is too small for Levin's neck!" We turned to see Grace grinning. "Which means the necklace belongs to the killer." I noted. "He must have ripped it off his killer's neck during the fight!" Grace nodded.

"Maybe." I smiled.

"Now this is all getting good. Thanks Nate and Grace." Jones said and we head back to HQ.

Jones pursed his lips, thinking. "I'm sure we're this close to solving this case, Keirah, but I don't know where to look for the last pieces of the puzzle..."

"Of course. If only we're able to get the fingerprints, we may have the lead to the killer by now." I said. "But that gold chain, Grace said the killer might be wearing those..."

I furrowed. "Only Mikhail and Marconi matches that evidence..."

"Hey guys, I may have something for you! Some Levin's neighbor called the night of the murder to complain about a fight!" We turned as Ramirez called.

"We could analyze the record, you know, like they do on TV!" He added.

"You kidding?! You had this from the beginning and only tell us now?!" Jones said in a lofty voice.

Ramirez shrugged. "It was an old woman yelling about a commies invasion! And you told me not to bother you with crazy people stuff..." he waves his hands.

Jones sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Okay, let's see it."

We send the record to Alex to scrutinize it. It took him some time to view the record, for it was a bit blurry and indistinctive.

"Keirah, Jones, both of you owe me a round on this one! I've cleaned the record and isolated two voices in the background, as well as fighting sounds." Alex called out. We watch the remaining footage. It was too blurry and dark but their voices could be heard as they fight.

"Both people on the tape were speaking Russian. Considering this happened right before Anton was killed... I can tell you with certainty that your killer speaks Russian!" Alex said.

"As far as we know, only Mikhail and Dimitri do! That's our missing piece of the puzzle, Keirah!" Jones grinned. I nodded and followed him, it's time put arrest on that Killer.

"We know you killed your father after discovering he had an affair with Eva, Mikhail. I guess it's not the kind of "competition" you expected from him, right?" Jones said.

Mikhail furrowed. "White Bear" my butt! My father was a pig! It wasn't enough for him to disown me, he had to make Eva his b*]ch!" Mikhail gritted.

Jones held out the cuffs. "All you've got to worry about now, is not be your prison mate's b*]ch!" he said.

"You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a Court of Law..." He locked it up around his wrist.

Judge halls raps the gavel as the audience turns their attention. "Now that all elements have been reviewed, does the defense have anything to say?"

Standing at the front of the hall, Mikhail smirked. "That swine can't touch my girl anymore where he is now, nothing else matters."

"I loved him, you sick bastard! He was a real man, not a whiny kid like you!" Eva cried.

Mikhail widened his eyes. "WHAT?! How can you say that?! You are a...!"

"SILENCE, both of you! You clearly have no regrets for what you've done Mr Levin." Judge Hall stated.

"This Court thereby sentences you to 23 years in prison for the murder of Anton Levin." She read the verdict. "Officers, take this man away! Court is adjourned!"

"That was... weird, don't you think Keirah?" Jones said as we head out of the hall.

I furrowed. "Why?"

"I really thought we would get Marconi this time..." He pouted.

""Bravo" Officers!" We turned seeing the crooked smiling Dimitri. "You did a great job here, and a big favor to me..." He gave a slow clap.

"Careful Balanchine! We'll keep a close eye on you." Jones hissed.

"Sure. You two do that." He grinned scornfully and left.

Jones turned his back and sighed. "Come on Keirah, let's get out of here. I really could use a beer right now."

"So beer is the answer when you're stressed out." I teased.

"Hey, it's much better than smoking." He shrugged.

"Right." I rolled my eyes.

"What do you say, the first round is on you!" He smiled.

"Really?" I groaned. He pouted. "Alright! The rest will be yours!" I smirked.


	8. More SeEEWWer

**Additional Investigation: More SeEEWwer**

I came in early at the HQ. Surprising, Jones wasn't there yet so I've arranged all the reports that we will pass to Chief. "You're quite early today Ms. Silvers." Ramirez greeted. "Yes a bit early than usual isn't it?" I grinned. "How's everything?" I asked. He sighed. "We just took care of some teenage thugs and I never thought that would be hard." He sighed. "Teenagers today!" He added. "Yeah, kids are hard to handle nowadays." I noted. "By the way, you did great on your case." He smiled.

"Thanks. We barely made it either, well, thanks to you, without that complaint report we couldn't figured out who's the Killer." I said. He chuckled.

"Officer Silvers!" Someone called. I looked up finding a familiar red head officer. It's Officer Bard who called. I stood out from my desk. "Yes?"

"Chief King is looking for you. He just came." He smiled.

"Oh..." Jones wasn't here yet. Maybe I could send the report to Chief King ahead.

"Well done Silvers! You did a heck of a job on this case!" Chief King noted, he took the reports and placed it on the desk.

"I have something for you." He handed me a letter. I furrowed, wondering what was it. Chief King nodded, seeing my reluctant gesture to open it. I slowly opened the envelope and read the letter. As I read it, my eyes widened, and I can help but smile. A certification that I am now a Detective! I almost squealed as I finished reading it. Good thing I didn't. "Sir! This is..."

"Yes, you are now a detective!" He said smiling. "You have what it takes to be a good Officer, Silvers."

"Thank you." was all I said. I'm speechless.

"But a cop's work is never done! You should make sure there is nothing else you can do for your former suspects and witnesses." He said and I nodded. "Where's Jones?"

"I think, he's on his way now Sir." I answered.

"Right. Also, we've had several complaints about the Levin's restaurant since Dimitri Balanchine took it over. You should check on that!" He said.

"Got it Chief!" I nodded.

I smiled and bowed.

"Yes!" I smiled as I closed the Chief's door.

"What's with that look?"

"Oh cheeze!" I jumped up in surprise, finding Jones behind. "Why are you late?" I asked, raising my brow.

"FYI, I'm not late, you're simply early. Why can't you be a little late than your usual time? I mean you always came here 1 hr early." He complained.

"Stop complaining, we have a job to do." I said bluntly.

"Wait, is it about that letter?" He asked looking at the letter I'm holding. "No." I turned and walked away.

"Then what about, I just saw earlier? You seem very happy." He teased.

"You guess." I snickered.

"Oh! So now you're hiding something to me!" He crossed his arms.

"That's not too important for you to know." I rolled my eyes.

"Ms. Silvers! Have you just been to Sir Chief?! Did he tell you? Congratulations!" Ramirez said.

"Uh, yeah. How did you know?" I asked.

"When he asked me about you before you head to his office, he smiled. Then without a thought, I suddenly asked him and he told me about it. I knew it was something about your promotion!" He grinned.

"Did you? at least Ramirez knew." I sneered.

"Wait! I've just arrived!" Jones whined.

"Ms. Silvers has been promoted as our detective!" Ramirez answered.

"Oh! I remembered! Now, is the day!" Jones remarked.

"So you knew! And you never told me?!" I glared as we head back to our desk.

"I just have the idea when the Chief was asking me about our reports on our last case." He grinned. "Besides, we're too busy telling you that, I also don't want to hold up your expectation."

"Well, I'm not expecting anything though. Now, let's get to work shall we?" I smiled.

"Sure!" He smiled.

We check on Bart first, and seems he really is looking for us. He rushed in as we approached him. "Officer Silvers! Thank God you're here! Something bad happened, I really need your help!" He said, panicking.

"Detective!" Jones answered. I nudged him.

"Oh, yeah! Please Detective, officer, whatever. Please! You gotta help me!" Bart panicked.

"Geez, calm down... What's the matter?" Jones rolled his eyes.

Bart scratched his head. "Some guys roughed me up pretty bad outside the comic book shop. They threw my Ripper Jade action figure into the sewers!"

"Ripper Jade?! One of the characters in Dungeons and Heroes?" I asked, grinning.

"What?" Jones furrowed.

"Woah! You knew the game Detective?" Bart squealed.

"I played that game when I was in college." I chuckled.

"Woah! Awesome!" Bart said.

"Ehem!" Jones was a bit irritated now.

"Uhhm please find it and since Detective and you, know those sewers well enough... I figured you could help me get it back!" Bart said.

Jones frowned. "Are you freaking kidding me? You want us to go back down there for a stupid doll?"

"It's a collector's ACTION FIGURE. Look... if you help me, I'll give you some hot piece of information that will make it worth your while!" Bart waved and grinned.

"I almost forgot you played MMorpg games before." Jones scoffed. "Oh please! I was just surprised about Bart having a collection of that game." I said. I forgot that anybody else in this town could play the game.

"I can't believe we are doing this... This kid is killing me! This information had better be worth the trouble!" Jones groaned.

"Ok, Keirah, let's get it over with." He said and we entered the sewers.

We began to search on the sewage conduit. We light up the flash lights. "It must be here somewhere. If the guys dropped it off here." I checked on near the gutter. "Sure it is." Jones muttered. The puddled floor make it hard to search for us, adding the smell. Though I think, I slowly became immune to it. I shoved off the tin cans and trash out. Plastics, soda cans, receipts, paper bags, head of an action figure... Wait! a Ripper Jade figure. "Jones I think I found it!" I said as I take the Ripper Jade figure. "It doesn't look so good." I remarked. "Drats! The doll is smashed! If we give it back in this shape, that nerd's going to melt down." He said. "But I'm sure you will be able to fix it in no time, Keirah!"

"Me! Again?" I glared.

"I know how good you are in stuff like these." He said.

"Okay, but first let's get out of this filthy place." I said.

"Good thinking." He said as we walk by.

And as we step out of the conduit. Jones stumbled to one of the junk, and slipped him down. He landed down the puddled floor, that even some of the filthy fluid spattered around my jeans. "EEwwww! Jones?!" I groaned, turning back. I glared at him. Seeing him sitting on a filth made me forget the dirt on me and laughed at him, the puddle almost caught all of him. "Seriously Jones? Do you want to take a swim on those?" I teased.

"Oh c'mon not funny." His eyes were deadpan.

"Now, you know how it feels to swim in a puddle of filth?" I raised my brow. He shoved off the dirt trying to stand up but the floor is too slippery. "Aww, come here big guy." I offered a hand. "Thanks!" He smirked, and as I held out his hand he pulled me right over the puddle, beside him. _This is just so insane!_ I fell down on my knees, dirt were all over me! "AH! BLAST IT! Jones!" I shouted, and its his turn to laugh. "Fun isn't it!" He said with sarcasm.

"You want me to shove your face in that filth!" I said, irritated.

"Okay, I'm sorry! C'mon, let's clean up back to HQ." He said and offered me a help.

I glared and shove him. "No thanks! I can manage." I said, barely standing.

"Aww c'mon." He insist as he pulled me up. I was'nt paying so much attention to his force that I leaned on his chest. "Careful!" I glared. I halted, seeing his smile and noticing how close I am to him, it gave me shivers. I flinched back quickly. "Thanks!" I said blushing.

I groaned as I cleaned up the dirt with tissue. The smell stuck on our clothes. "Seriously Jones, that just so childish, so immature." I muttered. "Really, I can't walk around like this."

"HEy at least you're not alone, mine is worse than yours. I look, terrible." He noted as he finished up.

"You already look terrible before you landed on that puddle." I smugged.

"C'mon Keirah. Don't be so serious." He said as we get in the car. "Say, I owe you a pizza for that."

"You think I'm gonna fall for that, you should try harder." I smirked.

"I know you will, c'mon now. See, I could see that smile." He teased.

I frowned. "Will you just drive now. I can't wait to clean up this mess in the HQ!" I said.

"C'mon..." He smiled, looking straight at my eyes. I glared. I sighed and turn away. "Will you stop that? You're starting it again!"

"What?"

"That puppy dog eye! You think it will work?" I said.

"No, I'm not doing it." Yes he doesn't.

I stared back seeing him, still had that sweet smile and his blue orb looking straight at my hazel's. Please not that staring contest! I blinked. "Okay stop, I forgive you already, you know that!" I turned away, my cheeks are turning into crimson.

"I knew you are." He chuckled. "You're not too tough, Keirah." He noted as he start up the car.

Back at the HQ. Ramirez stared at us. "What happened to you two?" He asked, worried. "Well, the rain got us." I said in a sarky remark. Ramirez check on the window. "It's quite a good weather out there, amigo... And what's that smell?" He waved.

"It's a long story..." Jones added.

I straight ahead up to clean myself from these filth. It took me some time to wash out the filth and smell, just like the first time we went on that Sewer. I really hope we wouldn't encounter another sewer. I plopped back to my desk after. I looked at the broken action figure. Bart might be gone crazy if he saw his precious toy like this. I began to piece it back together and with the help of some tools that Alex gave me, I managed to piece back the figure. Now it looks one whole piece. I washed it carefully after, then shove it off to Jones.

"Here you are cowboy!" I said.

He grinned. "Well done Keirah, you ARE handy! The doll looks as good as new!"

"It's an action figure." I noted.

"Whatever. I still wonder why Bart is so attached to it." He pursed his lip.

"We should hand it over to Alex to make sure there is nothing suspicious about it." He said.

I rolled my eyes. "The only suspicious about it, was it looked a bit broke. Well it was." I said.

"C'mon, I never trusted that kid, maybe he hides something beneath this figure." He insist.

"Right." I shook my head and followed him.

Alex came in short after. "Well, Alex? Have you found anything about this "action figure"?" Jones asked.

Alex furrowed. "I have indeed..." He then began to grin. "It's freaking AWESOME! I checked the serial number, and turns out be a very limited edition! No wonder Bart is crazy about it!"

"Now that you've said it, I wouldn't take this back to Bart." I grinned.

"Yeah, wait! I almost forgot, you also played that game!" Alex said.

Jones sighed. "Nerds... Nerds everywhere... Come on Keirah, let's give it back to Bart."

"Alright Sir." I shrugged.

"Here is your doll, cry baby. We had to wade through some stuff that would give you nightmares to find it. It'd better be worth it!" Jones said.

"Oh thank you SO much! There is not even a scratch on it!" Bart looked at it. Jones and I glanced at each other. He gave a light grin.

"Alright. A deal is a deal! So here is what I heard : there is a lot of tension between Salvador Cordero, the Vipers leader, and his second Ash Bison." Bart said. "Cordero wants his gang to wage an open war on the Skulls, but Ash is opposed to it. You should keep a close eye on them..."

"A gang war." I noted.

"We really need to keep up close to them." Jones added. "Good thing your info was worth a try. Thanks!"

"The sewage stench is going to stick to us for a month..." Jones remarked. "But the information we got was worth it! We'd better keep these gang scum on a short leash!"

"Better time to keep us busy eh?" I said. We head on to check up Eva next.

"Hi Miss Coleman, we just came to see if you were alright?" Jones said. "I'm glad to see you Officers...Actually, I can't find Anton's chain bracelet, although I've been assured that it has been returned." Eva said.

"I'm sure Mikhail took it and hid it from me somewhere here in his apartment!" Her face saddened.

"Don't worry Miss! If the bracelet is here, Detective Keirah and I will find it in no time!" Jones grinned.

"Thank you." She smiled and ushered us in. We began our inspection in their living room. We carefully searched through the couch and table. I started to inspect the fireplace as Jones proceed on the cabinet tv. I failed to find any bracelet though. "Did you find it?" Jones asked. "Not yet." I answered and keep searching. "Clever isn't he." I muttered.

I looked inside the firebox, rubbing the filler panels on the other side, when I felt something attached on it. I peered inside. I light up a flash light as it was dark and found a safe box attached on the panel. Jones came afterwards. "What did you found?" He asked as I took it out. "Well done Keirah, I'm sure we will find the chain bracelet in this safe... Well, if we manage to open it!" He said.

"Sure it is. He really made sure Eva wouldn't found it." I said, trying to figure out the safe's code.

"You sure, you can unlock it?" He asked.

"Lets see." I smirked. I keep on tracking the code when a click sound finally heard. "There!" I said. "Man, you really have a thing with techs Keirah! This safe didn't stand a chance!" He said as I opened up the safe.

All that glitters shines up to our face. Mikhail had a bizarre taste in jewelries. "Wow, Mikhail does love shiny jewelry... Look at this stuff! Good luck finding a single chain bracelet in this mess!" Jones noted, looking up to one of the gem in pile.

"Let's see who's clever enough finding that stuff." I said as we began to search the safe. "Hah! See!" I said, delighted. "You've got a keen eye Keirah! Let's give this back to Eva." Jones said.

Eva was waiting on the kitchen. "Here you are Miss Coleman, we found Anton's chain bracelet!" Jones smiled. "Thank you so much Officers! Anton's son will at least have a token of his father. I don't even know how to repay you!" She smiled.

"Don't worry, Miss. Performing our duty is reward enough!" Jones said. Wow, wise words there Jones.

"Oh, I know... Why don't you take this? Mikhail won't need it anytime soon." She handed us a russian badge, maybe it was one of Mikhail's collection.

"Thank you." We smiled and leave.

"We meet again, Balanchine! We've had serious food poisoning complaints. You're gonna get it this time!" Jones hissed. Dimitri on the other hand seem not to care. "Is this not the Health Inspectors' job? What a petty task for such "brilliant" cops..." He said bluntly.

"Well one of us is indeed an Inspector. Right" I sneered as I nudged Jones.

"Yeah right!" Jones laugh in sarcasm.

Dimitri raised his eyebrow. "You're quite funny. I'm starting to like you Officer Silvers." he smirked.

"We'll do whatever it takes to shut down your business, Balanchine!" Jones squinted.

Dimitri cocked a smile. "Knock yourselves out and search the restaurant then. And since you like to get your hands dirty, don't forget the trash on your way out." He waved.

We head to the kitchen and take some food sample from leftovers we found. "Well done, I wonder what will we get from these samples." Jones remarked. "I can't wait to shut down Dimitri's business!" Jones smiled devilishly.

"Keirah, Jones... I've got some good news! The food samples you gave me are clean!" Grace said after she finished the analyze. "Wonderful!" I smiled. But Jones sighed. "Dammit! I can't believe this obnoxious douchebag is getting out of trouble again!" he said.

Grace and I glared at him. "Uh... Jones... Should you not just be happy people won't get sick after eating there?" She said. "Mmph... I guess you're right. Come on Keirah, let's go tell Dimitri the "good" news..." Jones groaned.

Dimitri smiled wryly as we came. "Well, Officers?" He raised his brow. Jones made a disgusted look. "We found nothing suspicious... But you won't be so lucky next time! Come on Keirah, let's get out of this rathole..."

"Don't be a sore loser, Jones." Dimitri said. He turned to me and smiled. "I'm sure your partner at least will appreciate a fine meal, won't you Detective Silvers?"

"Would you mind?" He looked at Jones. "You don't say!" Jones hissed.

"Just a second." I said.

"This won't be long, I promise, Keirah." Dimitri smiled and I followed him as Jones left behind, muttering.

"This is one of the finest meal we made. For you..." Dimtri handed me a freshly cooked Beef Stroganoff. "it's on the house." He smiled.

"Thank you, you shouldn't have to..."

"It's my pleasure. No hard feelings." He said.

I came back to Jones, seeing that distasteful look. "Did he propose to you?!" He asked suddenly. "What are you talking about? He just gave me a free meal." I snorted. He rolled his eyes as we get in the car. "Don't worry, he's not my type." I chuckled. "Yeah, I couldn't imagine how you and him will turn out." He sneered.

"He seem to be a nice guy." I said, grinning.

"Heh! What are you saying now?! He just gave you a meal and your turning your guard down." Jones said.

"I'm not that easy to get." I looked and cocked my head. "Well, look who's over protective now. Jealous?" I squinted, grinning.

"Hey don't look at me like that. And I'm not jealous. As a guy, I know how men act." He furrowed.

"Really?' I chuckled and opened the box. The smell spread all over, it was so inviting. Wow I started to get hungry. As I was about to take some of the meal, when Jones suddenly grab one. "Hey!" I yell. "Just checking if this one's suspicious." He said munching. "So?" I raised my brow. "It's delicious..." He muttered. "Chill up Jones. We just checked the food samples and they're all clean." I chuckled and get some. "HHmmm.. This one's great!" I said, delighted and grab another bite. "Never expected Dimitri could cooked like this!" I remarked. "C'mon get some more, you're not gonna regret it!" I offered. "No thanks! I'm okay." Jones said, starting up the car. I pouted. "What ever." And finished up the meal. Jones may be a big jerk but I like how he tend to be a protective dude on women.

 **A/N: Am getting the hang of this. :D Thanks to those who keep reading..**

 **To Tia Johnson,**

 **Hi, Thanks for keeping in touch. As I said on the note, The Storyline was based on the game. Some of the dialogues were based on Criminal Case game. I just added up some scripts. Thank you so much for your review. You're one of the reasons why I keep on writing. Your reviews gave me inspiration. As for your request, lets see what will happened to Jones and Keirah eventually. ;D *winks**

 **Thank you so much! To all of you.. :D I also thanked my sister for some of** **the** **proofread.**

 **Xiao! ^3^**

 **PS: I posted two chapters. It may took some time for the next chapters, because I started to become busy with my work as animator. I hope you still bear with me,don't worry, I'll try to update soon. :) Thanks for sticking by.**

 **Xiao!**


	9. Good Cop, Dead Cop

**Chapter 6: Good Cop, Dead Cop**

"You're early today." Ashley remarked as she walks downstairs. I kept my eyes on my laptop. "Hey!" I smiled. "I made you some flapjacks."

"Sweet. So what's you're up to?" Ashley took a bite on one of the flappy. "You're still chasing down those thugs didn't you?" She asked.

"I hardly slept, and It's my job, since they're making more and more ruckus in the town, it's about time we have to work harder." I said and close to the laptop. "Just don't be too focus on them, stay safe sister."

"I will." I smiled and handed her a note. "What's this?" She furrowed, finding it a phone number.

"You're looking for a forensic laboratory job don't you? I asked Grace if there are available internship and she said yes. She'll be looking forward, working with you, so better call the lab as soon as possible okay." I said.

"Seriously?!" She said with excitement. "I get to work on the crime lab now!"

"Don't be too excited, you're still have to wait if you're in the position." I said. "Well I'll better go. See you later."

I looked at my watch as I wait for the elevator. 30mins. early. An Officer came rushing to catch by at the elevator. He seems in a deep thought. His blonde curls is a bit disheveled, He has blue eyes, but what caught me was the bruise on his left eye. I'm dying to ask him about that, but I decided to keep it. He press the button in 3rd floor. The ride was silent. The elevator opened on third floor, but he seems to not notice it. I cleared my throat dragging his attention. "Excuse me, we're here on the third floor." I smiled. Pressing the button to hold the door. He snapped. "Oh! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He gave me a smile and step out the door. I wondered what's with him.

I checked out my reports when I came on my desk. "Hey Keirah!" Jones greeted. "Good timing, Chief King wants to see us."

"I bet it's a new case!" I grinned.

"Yeah, right, what else would he called us for." He said.

Chief King's face was covered in grief as we entered the office. "Detective Silvers. Officer Jones. I have terrible news. Detective Ed Dunkin was just found dead in the Queen Street subway station." he announced. We glanced, mouth agape. We hardly process the news. "Dead! What... How did this happen?" Jones furrowed.

Chief King sighed. "This is what I'm counting on you both to figure out! If there is a cop-killer in this town, we need to catch them fast!" We nodded. "Start by going to the crime scene, and see what you can find!"

"I can't believe another Officer has been killed again." Jones saddened. I knew how he felt, knowing that his partner was killed 2 years ago. I didn't reply, I don't even know what should I say in times like this.

We arrived at the Subway platform. The yellow line already taped around the scene. The officers were there waiting for us. Some of them ushered the people who passed by the station to take another route. We looked at the Victim. Jones stared at it for few seconds. "Jones, we should stay focus." I said, squeezing his shoulder in sympathy. He sighed. "Seeing Ed's body lying there is pretty sobering, but you're right, Keirah, we must keep our focus!" He started to look around as I inspect the body. Hoping to find some remaining evidences. He was shot, which obviously leads to his death. His face has a some cuts and bruises. "He must be fighting before he got killed. Poor Ed." I said. "We should find this guy soon before he gets another one." Jones muttered.

I signaled the forensics to take the body to the ambulance. I looked around. "We'll need the autopsy results as soon as possible, and there's also this garbage bag to sift through." Jones said. It was already open. I search through it, thinking I might find a clue. And instead of a murder weapon I found a USB. "Nice catch, Keirah!"He noted. "But what is a Police USB key doing in a subway trash?"

"Someone put this there in purpose." I noted.

"Yeah. There's no way it got there by accident! Let's just hope Alex can salvage whatever info was on there!" He said. "It'd probably be a good idea to go talk to Harry Landry, too. I don't think you've ever meet him? He was Ed's partner."

"Well I do. I just met him earlier." I said. "Do you think he knew about this?"

"I don't know? LEt's head to the crime lab first, lets see what Nathan found."

"I really HATE seeing colleagues end up on my table. You'd better stay safe, Keirah!" Nathan said in grieving way. "Judging from the angle of the wound, Ed was kneeling down when he was shot. Which also means his killer is about 6'3''."

"Kneeling down? You mean he was executed?!" Jones noted.

"Even if he was, he fought back: his knuckles are scraped. So unless your killer is made of steel, they're walking around with a nice bruise on their face!" Nathan added.

"Will add that up. Thanks Nathan." I said.

"Jones I've heard the news, sorry on what happened." Alex said in comfort. Jones nodded. "We have to get that Jerk who did this soon... So what do you get?"

"That key didn't agree with its stay in the trash, but I managed to restore one file: the police records of a certain Angel Martinez." Alex replied.

"Hm... that name sounds familiar..." He pursed his lip. "I know! He's the scum we booked a while ago for organizing dogfights! He lives nearby. Let's go say hello!"

"Isn't dogfights are illegal?" I noted.

"Yeah, Ed must be working an investigation on it." He said.

Angel Martinez obviously love dogs, or dog fights. Noting his orange and white jacket with a picture of dog on it. He's so towering and tough looking, yet has neat spiky dark hair. He has blue eyes which the left was covered with bruise. What's with these guys and bruises?

"Mr. Martinez, we found your record on Ed's flash drive. And we're pretty sure you had an idea." I said.

"So you found my name on a dead cop's key, big deal." Angel remarked bluntly.

"Yes, big deal! It's pretty clear Ed was investigating your dogfighting ring. Is that why you killed him?" Jones jeered.

"Him? Investigate ME? You're sure we're talking about the same guy? * _Chuck_! Ed was one of my best customers! Didn't miss a fight!" Angel snickered.

"Suuure. And me and Detective Keirah deal dope when we're not on the job, don't we, Keirah?" Jones gave a wide grin.

"Heh! Well, keep that up, buddy." Angel snorted.

"One thing. Did you also got yourself in a dog fight? That bruise surely sums it up." Jones added.

"Jones!" I scolded.

"You're clever. But this is none of your business." Angel spatted.

"That's something strange, I wouldn't think Ed will get involve in a dog fight. Sounds like not Ed at all." Jones noted.

"Pretty strange indeed. Why not ask his Partner." I said.

"Drat! I forgot about that. Let's go have some chat with Harry." Jones said.

Harry was on the interrogation room when we came back. He's a bit relaxed now than I saw earlier.

"Harry, we're sorry to inform you this..."

"I heard about it. Ed was... a good man." Harry's eyes were filled with solitude.

"Sorry about your partner." I said. "Are you alright?" I added.

He looked at me knowing what happened earlier. "I... Yes, I just haven't had a good sleep lately. And now I'm shocked, hearing what happened to Ed." He said.

I nodded. "Do you have any idea who he met up last night?"

"No, I don't know who Ed met up with last night. If I did, I'd be arresting their ass right now!" Harry furrowed. "Look, Ed could be really private, go off on his own. Heck, maybe he was on a case and didn't tell me!" He stuttered.

Jones crossed his arms. "Private or not, we're going to need answers."

"Ed's desk is on the third floor, right? Keirah, we should go have a look around." Jones sighed.

"Hey, don't keep me out of the loop, okay? I'll be around, just keep me updated!" Harry pleaded.

We headed to the third floor and find Ed's desk. "Hope we find what we're looking." Jones muttered. I shrugged and proceed to search. I notice the family picture on his desk. I looked at it for a moment. I searched behind his desk, there was a trashcan beside it and I notice a shred paper. I looked at one of it's piece. "Jones, this is an arrest form isn't it?" I said. He came by and inspect it. "Yes. But why would Ed tear it to shreds? This doesn't make any sense." He said.

"Let's piece it back, that way we could track this person he was supposed to issued an arrest." I said.

"You're right, Keirah." He nodded.

I carefully flatten the crumpled pieces as I lined it up, then taped them together. "Great job, Keirah! Now we can check who that arrest form was issued to... and hopefully discover why it was turned to confetti." Jones blabbered behind. "So who..." As we read. "William Lewis?" I added.

"Ha, Zeus! He's a local pimp, although he likes to call them "callgirls". Let's ask him over for a chat." Jones said.

Zeus was seated, his hands resting on his chin and looked around, amused. He gave a slight grin as Jones told him about Ed and the torn arrest form. "I sure hope that arrest sheet was torn up! That was part of our deal: Ed would make sure I didn't get sent to the joint..." He smirked. "... and in exchange I'd let him have some fun with my girls, free of charge."

We stared back. "You don't say!" Jones said in surprised.

Zeus waved. "No need to look at me like that, coppers! Maybe you just don't know the guy as well as you think you do..."

"It's difficult to accept the fact that Ed is doing something... wrong." I noted. Jones sighed. "I don't know if they're just playing with us."

"Detective Silvers, Sir! There's a... a prostitute... who claims she's got info about Ed's killer!" Ramirez peered in the office.

"A prostitute? I bet it's Ginger! With luck, she can give us a physical description of our culprit!" Jones face brightened.

"She says she saw them throw their gun into the river, in front of Dock 15. King wants you to go have a look there." Ramirez said. "Oh, and sir, sir! Harry Landry also wants to speak with you."

"Great. Lets talk to the lady first." Jones grinned.

"Who's Ginger?" I asked, noting his bit of excitement. "She's a friend..." He answered.

"A _friend_?"

"Oh you're wondering how we met? Accidental meeting at first, she was a damsel in distress and I came to help her." He answered.

"That was too mainstream Jones!" I snickered.

"Really! It's the truth! Since then she helped us, giving some infos if the situations calling." He said grinning, as we entered the room. "Jones!" A girl came to hug him which surprised us both.

Jones chuckled and break from the hug. "Detective Silvers, I don't think you've met Ginger? She's an old friend, always ready to help."

She turned and looked at me. She gave me a genuine smile, her long blonde hair suits her blue eyes. I can't help but notice she's... beautiful. "You bet I am, gorgeous!" She grinned and I blinked. "Well..." I smiled.

"Just kidding." She winked.

"A soon as I heard gunshots in the subway yesterday, I knew to keep my eyes peeled." She added.

"Did you get to see their faces?" I asked.

Ginger pursed her lips. "Actually, Some guy came running out a second later, straight for the river. I only had time to notice his eyes; y'know I have a weak spot for blue eyes." She grinned turning to Jones.

Jones chuckled. "Hehe, yeah... Anyway. So our killer's a man, and he's got blue eyes! Thanks for your help Ginger, it won't be forgotten!"

"No worries! I'm here as always." She said. "Anyways, nice meeting you Detective. See you around." She smiled and I nodded.

There hasn't enough information on our Killer yet. "I think we have to investigate the riverside. Ginger said the Suspect ran towards the river, maybe he dropped the weapon there." I suggested. "Maybe you're right, but searching a murder weapon under water might be difficult." Jones noted.

"I heard you've been talking with Zeus and Martinez. I hope you didn't trust a word they said!" Harry peered in.

Jones turned. "Why? What do you think they told us?" He furrowed.

Harry blinked and puckered his brows. "I.. I don't know! But I know their type. They'd say anything to make us look bad!" He stuttered.

"What ever they said, the evidences will tell the truth." I answered.

"Look, I just don't want you to forget who the criminals are, that's all!" Harry waved his hands and left.

Jones and I exchanged looks. "Hm, I wonder what that was about. And whether we should trust Harry or our suspects..." Jones pursed his lips.

"Lets not be bias about this, they're all suspects." I noted.

"You're right. Let's check out the river though." Jones said.

We head to the riverside later and ready the equipments. "Been a long a time since I take a swim." Jones grinned as he grabbed the diving equipments.

"Now is your chance..." I smiled.

Later we head down the river bed. Just as Jones' said, it's very difficult to search underwater. I proceed to search near the submerged car which I think was there like million years old. The riverbed doesn't look that good, you'll never want to swim here. Trashes and litters were all around. I have the urged to gather all these trash and clean the river but I have to find something important first, which, I found finally. A gun! I came to Jones and tapped him on the shoulder showing the gun on his face. He grinned and gave me a thumbs up, since we can't talk underwater. Funny gestures are in. Then we head back to the ground.

"Bingo! You've got good underwater vision, Silvers!" Jones said after he took off his equipment.

"We haven't much of an answer if _this is_ our weapon." I said.

"You're right. But I hope so. The test will prove it, else we've gotten wet for nothing!" He sighed.

"Alright. I compared a bullet fired from that gun with one I found inside Ed's body, and the tests are clear: this is your murder weapon." Nathan announced. We glanced up smiling. "As for who it belongs to... Someone has tried to file off the gun's serial number, but you might be able to complete it." He added.

"We'll take take care of that. Thanks Nate!" Jones grinned.

"Would you?" He gestured handing the gun.

"Always!" I smiled and took it. "This won't took long." I sat on my desk.

Jones nodded and sat beside me. I notice the awkward silence that he has for a moment. Strange. "Are you okay?" I asked without looking at him. He turned and smiled. "Yeah." He answered.

"Liar... You seem quiet than usual." I snickered.

"Hey! I could be quiet sometimes!" He protested, knowing that I'm teasing him.

"When you're in deep thoughts. What were you thinking?" I said as I jotted down the code.

"Unicorns and rainbows..." He answered.

"Seriously Jones." I said. He chuckled.

"I know what you're thinking... You wanted to finish this case soon as possible." I turned to look at him. He looked down and nodded. "I know how you feel. It's been hard for you." I added. Knowing about his past on his former partner. "So, you're supposed to be a psychic now?" He sneered.

"I'm just telling you that I'm here to listen, if you want someone to talk to. Since... I'm your partner." I said. "I may not give you a worthy advice but I am a good listener." I smiled.

He smiled for a moment. "Yes you're right, I am eager to close this case and get the jerk who killed Ed." He said. For a moment he stopped. "It brings back nightmare." He added. He clenched his fist. "Have you ever felt like you've regret something in life?" He asked staring at the space.

I blinked. "Life has regrets. I think it's part of our life." I said.

"I haven't got the chance to save him." He said.

"Why were you saying that?" I furrowed.

"James sacrifices himself to save the team that night. If I was there, If I didn't listen to him to run. Maybe it wasn't too late."

"Jones..."

"We cracked the case but he's gone..."

"Hey! You did all your best. Everything happened wasn't your fault." I told him.

"I guess I'm not the best partner he has." He sneered.

I rolled my eyes. "This is so not you Jones. Don't let yourself down."

I squeezed his shoulder, snapping him from his thoughts. That would stop him. I hate it everytime he blames himself on his former partner's death.

"Tell me about James." I said. It's better if he thinks their good old memories. "Tell me what kind of guy he is. I want to know him."

He smiled. "He's a great guy, good at cracking the mysteries, and interrogating jerks."

"There's one time, we work on a very difficult case, I almost got crazy but he managed to solved it smoothly."

"Seems you two are so opposite..." I chuckled.

He nodded laughing. "He's like a big brother to me. He taught me how to cracked up the codes like you always did. But. I'm really terrible on that job." He laughed.

"That's why you let me do the job." I teased.

"Yeah, when he's gone. I have to work it out by myself and it still gives me a headache. Two years of working alone or two in a half almost, seems like a dark age. Good thing you came."

"Good thing, you choose me." I joked as I gave him the codes I collected.

He took it and smiled. "You never let me down Keirah. Nice job! Let's get this serial number to Alex. We may be close to finding who our killer is!"

"Finally there's the real Jones I've knew. Ready to crack the case." I snickered and he just chuckled.

"I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?" Alex raised his brows.

Jones crossed his arms. "Let's have the good news first, for a change." He said.

"I found your serial number." Alex grinned. We glanced up furrowing.

"The bad news is that the gun was Ed's. Which means his killer was clever enough to use a weapon we could never trace back to him."

Jones' mouth agaped. "What the..."

"Clever!" I muttered.

"That can't be helped. We have our murder weapon but nothing leads to our guy!" I noted.

"I'm starting to think that guy must knew Ed very well." Jones muttered.

I glanced. "You were saying?"

"I'm not saying it was Harry, although he is our suspect but Harry wasn't the only one who knew Ed right?" He explained and I nodded.

"C'mon lets investigate the subway, they're reopening it soon. We better crack this out!" He said.

It's getting dark when we arrived at the Subway. We came back to where Ed's body found and inspect around. I proceed to search on the Subway seats and found a familiar ticket around the trash. It looks a bit dusty so I'm not sure if it really was a betting ticket. "What did you find? A betting ticket?" Jones came. "This looks familiar." I noted. "Look, Keirah, I know we're desperate for leads, but picking up random trash? Seriously?" He snickered.

"We're gonna find it out." I said, in a challenging voice. I put out my tools and started to examine the ticket. And I was right. "Look! This ticket _is_ for dogfights!" I showed it to him.

He blinked and read it. "Hey, I hadn't seen that this betting ticket was for dogfights!"

He looked at me and I raised my brows. "I shouldn't have doubted you, Keirah! Let's send this print you collected to Alex." He grinned.

"Well Keirah, you've got good instincts! The prints on your betting ticket are a match with Ed's!" Alex announced. "What?!" I furrowed. "So Ed did gamble. Drat! We need to figure out who took his bets!" Jones said.

"I'm one step ahead of you. His bookmaker was Freddie Whitmore!" Alex said.

"Great, first thing tomorrow, talk to Freddie Whitmore." Jones said.

Freddie was surprised when we told him about Ed the next day. "# c*! Ed's dead?!" He snapped. "Yes, and we found this betting ticket on his dead body. We don't give a crap about your scam, but tell us what you know about Ed." Jones said. Freddie snorted. "Straight to the point, I like that!" He rubbed his forehead, dishivelling his fringe blonds. "Ed bet mostly on dogfights." He made a crooked grin. "Seriously?!" I stared. He laughed. "He kept the other cops off my back, and I made sure he didn't lose too often..."

"He's the third person to tell us Ed was as bent as they come. We cannot ignore this any longer..." Jones said. "We should inspect Ed's desk, maybe we find truth there." I said. "Good idea."

We came back to Ed's office and search through his desk. All is messy yet we found something that could be an answer. "I wonder to whom this phone number is." I said. "Somehow I doubt this phone number was given to Ed by his wife... Let's track its owner down." Jones said.

"Jones wait! I think we should check his drawers too."

"You're right, there might be a few..."

He stopped as I opened the drawer and we found a pack of cigarette. "Strange." Jones said. "I remember him yelling at smokers for "polluting his air"!"

"Look Jones there's something inside." I opened the box and found a note.

"Warehouse 10, 4pm"

Jones furrowed. "Wait, this all sounds familiar..."

"I know!" He snapped his fingers. "That's how that scum Angel gives his customers the place and time of his dogfights!"

"Let's cut to the chase. We found the place and time of your next dogfight in Ed's desk." Jones said.

Angel furrowed. "And that's surprising because...?" He raised his brows. "Oh for Cheeze! Ed loved those fights! Of course he had that info!" He sneered.

"Well then, maybe he was starting to lose interest... so you killed him, before he became a problem!" Jones glared.

Angel chuckled. "Heh! Nice try. Look, I hated the bastard, I'll grant you that. A bent cop is still a cop. But kill him? I had nothing to gain from that."

"These doesn't make any sense!" Jones complained.

"Angel maybe didn't killed Ed." I said. Jones glanced.

"What makes you say that?" He asked.

"He didn't have enough reason to kill Ed, specially if he gains something from him." I answered.

"That might be true." Jones said.

"Hey guys!" Alex called. "What did you get?" I asked. "It's so easy it's almost boring. The phone number you found on Ed's desk points straight to one of Zeus's callgirls." He answered.

"Wait, why would Ed have a callgirl's number?! Keirah, I think Zeus is due for another interrogation!" Jones snapped.

"See? Old Zeus was telling the truth after all! Yes, that phone number was given to Ed by one of my girls." Zeus snorted. "If you think this is getting you off the hook, you've got another one coming, Zeus!" Jones hissed. "Did Ed start wanting more? Was he hurting the girls? Is that why you decided to get rid of him?"

"Ha, I'd rather kill myself than kill Ed! He was the only reason my girls weren't being busted by the rest of you!" Zeus grinned.

Jones rubbed the back of his head. "I remember when Ed became a cop here. He always went on and on about our "duty" and how the Law must be upheld..."

"I guess when the good men fall, they fall hard."

"That's why, you have to look before you jump. You never know what could happen." I said. "I'm sure Harry knew all of these."

"Right. Let's go find some answers." He nodded.

"So Ed wasn't Cop of the Month, so what? Are you trying to ruin Ed's reputation, or find his killer?" Harry's voice has a tone of disapproval.

"Are you seriously telling me you thought knowing about Ed's accomplices didn't matter?! Get a grip, Harry!" Jones glared.

"Ed's got a family! I didn't want them to think of him as a bad man, a cheater! He was my best friend!" Harry answered.

"You didn't want them to think of him as a bad guy yet you compromised his actions." I said.

"I didn't!" Harry stared.

"Then why didn't you stop him?!" Jones said sternly.

"I tried! But he wouldn't listen! He never, ever, LISTENED!" Harry shouted. His eyes were somewhat filled with regret and rage. I sighed. Harry might be telling the truth.

"Detective and Inspector, I'm still waiting for your report on Ed's murder." Chief King came to the office. We glanced up. "Well, the thing is, chief... we're a little stuck. Harry stormed off when we told him we knew his partner was bent, and..." Jones answered.

"Ed? Bent?! This is a serious accusation! I hope you you're not throwing it around lightly, officers." Chief King furrowed. "I doubt Harry will accept to cooperate further after this. You two should go back to the river. We know Ed's killer threw his gun there, but he may have dropped something else!" He added.

"I Never thought to come back to this river." I said.

"We have no choice. I trust your instinct in this." Jones said, fastening the equipments.

"What if we find nothing?" I said.

"Be possitive. I'm still hoping we will though." He answered. "Ready to take a swim?" He grinned and we dive down.

We proceed to search over the submerged car, I looked around and inspect everything. I found what it seems like a camera covered with soil. I shoved off the soils and yes! A surveillance camera, that seems odd. Although everything around here under the water seems to be odd, but I try this camera. And it keeps bugging me that this looks like familiar. It's broken but I tried to inspect it. Jones came and followed my gaze. His eyes widened and pointed the camera's side. I furrowed and took a closer. Now I know what he wants to tell. We quickly emerged from the river. "...this surveillance camera comes from the subway! Look, there's even the station's name, on that piece!" Jones noted. "Normally I would laugh at whoever took it."

"Why?" I asked.

"The subway system hasn't been renovated in years and I'm pretty sure those cameras don't transmit their feed!" He answered.

"Maybe it don't, maybe it did. But I'm also pretty sure it is, coz our guy might be the one who took it, and threw it here. He maybe knew that this camera caught up the scene." I said.

"Maybe... Do you think you could fix it up? Then we could check what's on it. If it ended up in the river, chances are it caught the killer on tape!" He said and I nodded.

I started to fix up the camera later. A broken tech wasn't so easy to fix, especially it dived under water. I'm not even sure if we had a chance to save a record.

"Here, this gave me a hard time." I said, giving the fixed camera. "I knew you can do it! This camera doesn't even look like it was ever broken!" Jones grinned.

"Sweet talk." I rolled my eyes.

"Let's send it to Alex and see what he can salvage!" He said.

"All I've got to say is that you're lucky to have me. Giving this broken, soggy camera to anybody else would have led you to a big fat nothing." Alex said proudly.

"We know that." I chuckled.

"But, because I'm a genius, I was able to reconstitute the images it captured on the night of Ed's murder." He snapped. He showed us the remaining footage of the scene. it's a bit blurry but we can see almost what's happening. "The angle isn't great, but I can tell you one thing with certainty : Ed's killer's got blonde hair!" He paused the part where Ed was being shot. Judging by the guy, our eyes widened as we figured out who it was. We didn't see that coming.

"It can't be..." Jones muttered, his face began to get gloomy. I just shook my head.

"You finally got enough to make an arrest, officers?" Chief King asked.

"I guess we do. But something tells me I won't like where this is going..." Jones saddened.

"Well, remember, no matter what, you have to follow the evidence. I'm trusting on you to make the right decision." Chief King said. "You've done a fine job! I'll let you handle the arrest."

We called Harry for an interrogation. "I knew you'd figure it out. I should have turned myself in that night, but... I guess I'm weaker than I thought." Harry said after we told him what we've found. "Look, I didn't mean for any of this to happen! But I couldn't just watch Ed ruin his career! He was such an inspiration!"

"I know how you feel." Jones added.

Harry looked down. "When I first confronted him, he acted sorry, said he would stop... but those were all lies, of course." His brows puckered. "So I decided to up the ante. I told him to meet me in Queen Street station. I said I had a USB key filled with proof of his scams, that I was going to report him. And he just laughed in my face! Laughed! Said he had connections, that nobody would listen to me!

"He punched me, we started fighting. And then... I'm not sure how it happened. One second, he was pointing his gun at me, and the next... I was the one holding it..." Harry's eyes were filled with regret.

"And Ed was lying on the ground... dead."

Jones sighed. "Keirah, can you handle the arrest please? I don't have the heart to read him his rights."

I nodded and put the cuffs on Harry as we head outside the room.

Silence covered around the court room. Ed's wife was there. She knew Harry well, so when we told her about the case and that Harry was the one who killed him, she didn't even believe it. "They're best friends! I wouldn't think Harry will do it!" She told us as if we're accusing his partner.

Judge Hall began to rap the gavel, turning everyones attention. "Every time an officer of the Force stands in front of this desk, I am reminded that nobody is immune from falling on the wrong side of the Law." her face saddened.

She turned to Harry. "Harry Landry, you have entered a Guilty plea for the murder of Ed Dunkin. You do understand what this entails?"

"I do. I killed my partner! How it happened is irrelevant. I'm ready to face the full consequences." Harry nodded.

"Given the circumstances surrounding the crime, the Court thereby sentences you to 4 years for manslaughter, with a chance for parole in 2 years." She announced.

"... 2 years. That's all I get for killing the man who taught me everything. This is the Justice I was fighting to preserve?" Harry grieved.

The next day, we attended Ed's funeral. Almost all who attended were in the Force, Ed's friends and his family. This brings me back memories, I remember the day when I get to see the last face of my parents. It still hurts, especially, everytime I attend a funeral.

"One bad cop dead, one good cop behind bars, and two families deprived of their husbands and fathers... A sad day for the Grimborough police." Jones said as we head back to the car.

"I would have never suspected Ed of making pacts with felons. I guess you never really know anyone, eh?"

"By the way, partner, if you ever see me turning to the dark side... I trust you to slap some sense back into me!" He snapped.

"Maybe I'm gonna push you off the cliff if you do that. You know what I mean." I said. He glanced. "Just kidding." I smiled.

"I knew you were." He chuckled nervously.

ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATIONS

"You handled this case with a cool head, despite the fact that one of your colleagues had been murdered. I'm very impressed!" Chief King noted. "Your job, however, is not done. A few of your suspects are still giving us trouble. That pimp, Zeus, is causing a racket downstairs, I have no idea why!"

"That Jerk..." Jones muttered.

"And Ramirez has caught Angel Martinez walking on the subways tracks. Martinez claims it was an emergency. I would appreciate if you could sort this mess out."

We rolled our eyes.

"Oh, but on a lighter note, the delightful Ginger is also looking for you, Detective Silvers!" Chief King smiled.

I raised my brows and Jones stared at me.

"I don't see it why should we help the Jerks!" Jones complained.

"We just have to make them behave, we're not helping them." I said.

We found Zeus waiting on the interrogation. "What's your problem this time?!" Jones asked.

"There you are! Listen man, last time I was put in custody, you guys never gave me back my tie!" Zeus waved.

Jones frowned. "You're making all this fuss because of... a tie?! You can't be serious."

"Look at me: I'm ALWAYS serious about fashion!" We stared at him.

"Fine, Zeus, just keep the noise down. Keirah, I guess we should have a look through Ramirez's Lost & Found desk!" Jones stated.

"I never thought you have a heart to help Zeus find his precious tie." I said.

"It's only to get rid off Zeus soon." He said.

We made it to Ramirez's desk. "Hey Ramirez, mind if we search through your desk? Coz Old Zeus keeps on bugging us about his tie." Jones said.

"Oh! I remember, I put it here somewhere." Ramirez searched.

"Mind if we help you?" I asked, knowing he's having a hard time looking for it.

"Yes, please." Ramirez said.

"I can't find anything, and you?" Jones cocked his head.

"Nothing." I answered.

"Oh, that drawer looks promising! Let's have a better look at it!"

I took out the drawer and placed it on the table. "Wow, you can find anything in this mess." I noted. I searched through it and found a piece of cloth. "Jones, this looks familiar?"

He looked at it, as I found its remaining pieces. "Oh my!" I said.

"What the... What the hell is this?! RA-MI-REZ!" Jones called.

"... Yes? Did I do something wrong?" Ramirez came.

"You tell me! Why the hell is this tie cut into little pieces?!" He furrowed.

"Ah! you found it! Uh, I had to look after my little nephew for an hour and, well, I guess he must have..." Ramirez scratch his head.

"Great! Either we give Zeus the pieces and tell him it's the latest fashion... Otherwise we need to sew this tie back together!" Jones rolled his eyes.

"Can you fix it Keirah?" Jones asked.

"Jones I'm not a tailor. I'm terrible at that job, I'm telling you." I waved.

"Why not give it a try." He pleaded.

I sighed. "Don't blame me if this end up a disaster!"

I stared down at the pieces of cloth. How am I supposed to fix this. True this is like a puzzle solving but this is different. I sighed and start to piece it back and sew it. A few minutes later I head to Jones and showed the tie.

"Amazing work, Silvers! This tie would even fool me! I'm sure Zeus will never notice a thing!" He grinned.

"That's the most fake grin I've ever seen Jones. Sure it looks _terrible_! Look!" I pointed out.

"Nah, it looks good to me." He said. "I know how hard it is for you to fix this." He noticed the band aids on my fingers.

"It's nothing..." I pouted, and shoved my hands behind my back.

"Zeus, this is your lucky day! Detective Silvers has found your precious tie!" Jones handed the tie to Zeus.

Zeus took and wear it. "Finally! I was about to lose my cool."

"And I'm about to lose mine! So take your freaking tie and get the hell away from here!" He hissed.

"Chill out, little man. Nothing to get so upset about. Here, you clearly need some fashion tips yourselves. Have this, on me!" Zeus handed us a fancy shades with star shaped frames.

"Oh! You shouldn't have to." I said. "Thanks..."

"Zeus really has a weird taste in fashion." I noted, looking at the shades.

"Yeah. This might be part of my collection though." Jones said, wearing the glasses. "What do you think?" He grinned.

"Aww, you look terrible than ever!" I said.

"I'm expecting you to say adorable." He pouted and took it off.

"Let's get to work, there's another one we need to get rid off."

"I lost one of my puppies on the subway tracks... and I'd have gotten it back if that dumb cop hadn't arrested me!" Angel scoffed.

"That dumb cop is called Ramirez... and he isn't that dumb! And if you think we'll swallow your puppy story, you've got another one coming!" Jones gave him a sharp glare.

"For cheese sake! I'm serious! Go check it out if you don't believe me!" Angel insisted.

Jones chilled down a bit. He sighed. "You know what? We ARE going to look your puppy! But it's not to help you! ...it's just because puppies are adorable!" He said, squinting at Angel.

"Wow, we're going to find a puppy because they're adorable." I said.

"It is!" He smirked. "Seriously, Keirah, do you believe Martinez's tales?" He furrowed.

"I believe you're a big dork." I snorted.

"I believe that's contrary." He smirked.

"Nah. Let's go back to the Subway." I said.

"So You believe him." He sneered.

"I'm saying lets find out what he's hiding on that place. Maybe he's up to something." I said.

"Well, yeah, guess we really do need to check the station out!"

"How can we find a puppy in this place." I complained. The station started to open, now it's crowded. "Well let's try to search back from where we started." Jones said.

I searched around the subway seats. Excusing some passengers for a bit. I look around, I only see people passing by. I checked the vending machine and heard an indistinctive cry of a puppy. I checked out the side of the vending machine and see a poor lost puppy. "Aww. There you are li'l guy. Come here." I extend out my hand to pet it. It hesitated to come closer. "Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you." I said softly. I close my hand, letting the puppy to smell my fingers. He looked at me and I slowly pet him, he started to wag his tail. "Aww..." I took him out carefully. I feel him shaken so I carried him. "Don't worry you'll be alrgiht!" I pet him.

"Jones I found it!" I said, showing the puppy.

Jones turned. "Well I'll be... there really WAS a puppy in the station!" He said, surprised.

"Look at him, he's all scared! Come here boy! We won't hurt you." He started to pet him."

"We should probably check the registration tattoo on his ear, see if he really does belong to Martinez." He added.

I never thought this could be harder. When we head back to the HQ, the puppy seems to get used to us. He made the office his playgorund and he ran everywhere. I tried to chase the puppy and it thought I was playing so it kept running. "Come on li'l guy stick with me." I said, as I find him in everyone's desk. "What are you doing?" Inspector Bard noticed me peering under his desk. "Uh... Ah! I was searching for a puppy. It went right here." I chuckled in embarrassment. "Your puppy?" He smiled. "You had a police dog." He grinned.

"Ah no!" It's not a police dog, it's not my dog really." I snorted as the puppy passed by the door. "There you are!" I called. "Sorry." I told Bard.

I finally get the chance to catch the puppy. "Let's get to business, shall we?" I carried him.

I put him down on my chair and pet him, he seems tired now. Good, that way I can manage to examine his tattoo. Later he fell asleep, which is my chance. I carefully inspect his ear while he sleeps adorably.

"Here you go Jones, that puppy made me hungry." I said, handing the number.

"Great! How did you manage to decipher that tattoo? With the way Mr. Puppy was running around." He chuckled.

"I put him to sleep." I smirked.

"Hah! Clever." He grinned. "Let's give this number to Alex; he should find our puppy's owner in a flash!"

"Guys! I checked your tattoo, and the puppy DOES belong to Angel Martinez." Alex said.

"I can't believe dogfight organizers use such sweet puppies for their gruesome games!" Jones stated.

"Poor li'l guy. Oh look his awake!" I said petting him.

"They're monsters! Look at how this puppy has been abused already! No wonder it ran away!" Grace spatted and pet the puppy.

"Aww. If it's the same to you. I'm keeping Newton for myself!" She added.

"Aww, you've already given it a name! You and Newton definitely deserve each other." Jones rested his hand on his chin.

"He likes you anyway." I said noticing the way Newton gives Grace a puppy kisses.

We head back to Martinez to bring him the news. He's not gonna like it for sure. "Good news is we've found the puppy..." Jones announced.

Martinez' face brightened. "Great! I paid a fortune for that mutt!"

Jones grinned. "... and the bad news is you need to pay a fine for animal mistreatment. Oh, and we're keeping him!"

Martinez frowned. "You've got to be crazy if you think I'm gonna leave without that stupid dog!"

"Like we give him to you. He deserves something better!" I said. Martinez glared.

"Yeah, yeah, just pay your fine and leave unless you like spending time locked up in a cage!" Jones said.

"Detective Silvers, someone's looking for you." An officer told me. "Yes?" I stood up and I saw Ginger behind him. He kindly excuse himself, leaving us. "Hi, Ginger, we were also waiting for you, what's the concern?" I smiled. "Hi! Detective! I'm so glad to see you!" She hold my hand.

"Uhh. Jones will be here soon." I said.

"It's okay, but would you mind if I ask you a favor?" She asked.

"No, not at all." I smiled. "Take a seat."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay."

"I got mugged while I was on the docks yesterday. Thief took my bag, and then just threw it in the river!" she said.

"Oh, that's terrible, Ginger! We'll get whoever did this... Do you think you can identify your attacker?" Jones voice made us flinch.

"How long have you been there?!" I glared and he shrugged.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Ginger. "Yes, Ginger, did you identify the attacker?"

"No. It all happened so fast... But I did see his tattoo. It was that of a Viper. But I wouldn't want to send the man to prison, not for this anyway." She said.

"His actions prove guilty, he must be punish what ever circumstances are. Good thing he didn't do something on you." I said.

"It's okay, I'm alright, I just want to get my bag back." Ginger looked down.

"Don't worry, Ginger. Detective Silvers is the best at underwater searches! We'll fish out your bag in no time." Jones noted.

"The sun shines bright today, good timing for a few swim." I noted. "Could cover up the heat." Jones added. "Why don't we play a game?"

I looked at him raising a brow. "Who ever finds the bag wins, and the loser will treat the winner. How's that? For fun." He grinned.

"Hah! You think you'll gonna win? You've just said that I'm best in underwater search. Be careful." I smirked.

"Well I admit it, but who knows." He raised his brow and smirked.

"Fine." I wear my goggles and we dived down.

I looked around, it's hard to find anything on this mess. I shoved off the litters. That bag could be easy to identify though. I turned around and swim through, finally I found something. I quickly took it and looked at it to make sure. And yes! As Ginger have said, the bag is made of a crocodile skin, and color blue. I came to Jones and showed him the bag, which made him a bit dissapointed.

"See? What did I tell you?" I cocked my head teasing. "I knew you'll gonna find it." His eyes were deadpan.

"Anyway. Good job as always... Ginger said her bag was made of fake crocodile skin... but this looks like real crocodile skin..." He inspect it.

"Maybe she doesn't know it's made of real crocodile skin." I said.

Jones put the bag down, and stared at it for a moment. Suddenly, I knew what he's up to. "Don't even think about it Jones."

"What? I didn't say anything." He waved.

"That look. We're not gonna search inside her bag."

"We most probably shouldn't search through her bag... but then again we DO need to make sure it belongs to Ginger..."

"Well, she gave us the specific description of her bag and this is it." I glared.

"C'mon! Just to make sure." He pleaded.

I sighed. And took the bag. I opened it and search through. Jones glanced at the bag. "So, anything suspicious in Ginger's bag?" He asked.

"Lipsticks, eye shadows, eyeliners, and everything girly stuff." I said. "And..." I furrowed, finding a familiar card. "What's that? Since when does Ginger hang out at the Blue Flamingo?! Do you think Marconi's one of her clients?" He took the card and looked at it.

"It must be that she's..."

"No. It can't be! She should'nt get involve to that Jerk Marconi." Jones furrowed. "Let's go give this back."

Ginger was so happy we found her precious bag. "You found my bag! I don't know how to thank you enough for this!" She sigh in relief and check it.

"On the other hand, you didn't have to search through it." She looked at us. We glanced.

"Don't tell me you're didn't." She raised her brows.

I nudge Jones. "That's ludicrous! ... How are you even able to tell, anyway?" He chuckled nervously.

"A woman can always tell when her bag's been searched. You should be more careful, Jones." Ginger cross her arms.

Jones rubbed his nape. "Er, thanks, I will... You should be more careful too and stay as far away from Marconi as possible."

"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself." She snorted.

"And Detective Silvers, please take this for your trouble." She handed me some of her goodies.

"Oh... Thank you." I smiled.

"See you around." She smiled and left.

"Well, where's my price? I won the bet." I tilted my head, smirking.

"Oh that! I almost forgot." Jones chuckled.

I gave him a sharp glare. "Seriously?"

"Nah, I was just joking? Sure I'm gonna treat you. Where would you like?" He asked.

"I'm craving for some pizza right now." I wondered.

"Pizza is great! Let's head to the Pizza town!*" He smiled.

 **A/N:**

 ***Pizza town is the name of a pizza shop/resto in the city that I made.**

 **Well that's all for now. Keirah could a mean sometimes. XD Sorry to keep you all wait. Super thanks to all your reviews and faves. I'm super flattered. Don't worry I'm still working on the next chapter. :D**

 **Safety and Peace to all.**


	10. Heroes and Villain

**CHAPTER 7: HEROES AND VILLAIN**

"Officers! Jake Stuart was found dead on his apartment. I need you to check out the crime scene." Chief King ordered.

"We're on it Sir!" Jones grinned. "Let's go!" I nodded, following him.

We arrived at Jake's apartment shortly. We saw Nathan there, together with his forensic team.

"What are you doing here Nate? Missing the field?" Jones teased.

"I got bored in the lab, so I decided to investigate here, for a difference." Nathan said.

"What do you get?" I asked.

"Judging by the body, it looks like the estimated time of his death was about 14 hours." He answered.

I peered down on the body, this is unusual. His eyes were open. He looks struggling for something.

We'll gonna wait for the autopsy results." I said as the forensics take out the body. I look around the room, some of the snacks are on the table, two large lcd monitor on his desk.

"Jake Stuart, aka Lord Raegbond... Huh, what a name." Jones noted, scanning the documents. "He was known to be an internet troll, a hacker?" He added.

"For a hacker, he's also a gamer." I said, showing Jones some of the game installers I found.

I also found his laptop, beside it, was a card, a gift card? To whom it was from? It doesn't have the sender's address. "I have a bad feeling on this card, who send this? If Jake is ever gonna send this card, then why does it looked like someone just opened it?" I stated.

"Clearly, he's the one who opened the card. And you're right Keirah, this has no sender's name, which means..."

"Jake knew the killer!"

We searched through the studio for some clues.

"He's a whiskey lover." I noted, showing the empty bottle that I found under his desk.

"This guy is very depressed." I said.

"How did you know? This looks like he enjoys the things he's been doing." Jones looked around. "Well, except for those bottle of whiskeys. It might be that he had a rough living."

"That is one. Look. Seems the only way to get through from his reality was all of these stuff." I said with pity.

"A good way to end his own life. You think?" Jones pursed.

"So you're saying it was a suicide. Maybe. But I don't see it as a suicide. Usually you have to finish things around you before you began a suicide, right?..."

"All these clutter in his desk, and PC left open seems he's busy doing something when he died." I explained.

Jones nodded. "I see that. But this turn out to look like an accident."

"That's what the Killer wants us to believe." I said.

"They want us to believe this was an accident."

"You have a point. Let's see what Nathan found out." He pursed his lip.

"Guys the kid here was the one who called the police. He's Jerry." Ramirez gestured.

"Inspector Jones and Detective Silvers here."Jones greeted.

The kid got brown hair, has innocent kind look on his face and could be 10 years of age.

"I was about to pick up his garbage that time. I knock several times but he didn't answered." Jerry explained.

"And you think that something's wrong?" Jones said.

"At first I thought he wasn't there. But as I remember we just had a little conversation an hour before I came back to his unit." The kid furrowed.

"Were you and Jake are friends?" I asked.

"Acquaintance I think. We're not that close, I only knew him well coz he played the Dungeons and Dragons." The kid smiled.

"You're playing the game?" I raised my brow.

"Yeah, sort of. He taught me how to play it." He nodded. "Since then, we played sometimes. I can't play that much like he did. I have school works." He shrugged.

"Good thing you still think of that." Jones said. "Keep focus on your studies okay?"

Jerry nodded. "Yeah... So you still searching who killed him?"

"Yes. Did you find something unusual on Jake like does he seems to act weird or did someone came to his unit that time?" I asked.

The kid puckered his brows. "No. He seems to be okay. I don't think he and Dave has misunderstanding either."

"Who's Dave?" Jones asked.

"He was Jake's friend. He sometimes went here everytime Jake got drunk."

"Right. Dave may not heard the news yet. Thanks Jerry." Jones said.

"We might wanna head to Nathan first, let's see what he finds and let's send the card to grace." Jones said and I nodded.

"You guys are right in time." Nathan smiled.

"What ya got?" Jones asked.

"It appears that the victim was allergic to peanuts which also the cause of his death. But what kills him is heart attack." Nathan explained.

"So the victim has a history of a heart disease." I noted.

"The allergy may have triggered the attack." Jones wondered.

"Could be. That explains his horrified look." I nodded.

"It seems that Jake also is a whiskey lover and depressed." Nathan added.

"Told you." I nudged Jones.

"I never said you didn't." He pouted. "Thanks Nathan!"

"Guys I checked the card and it seems that it contains some bits of peanut, powdered." Grace explained. "I'm still wondering why the card has it."

"That's it!" I snapped.

"What?" Jones asked.

"The card contains peanuts which the victim is allergic to. When he opened the card. The peanuts shattered around like a pop up confettis." I explained.

"That's it! I know that kind of cards. It's used mainly in parties and birthday surprises! Confettis will blast out after you've opened the card." Jones said.

"Yes..."

"So this card is your murder weapon." Grace said.

"Yes... Thanks Grace." Jones said.

We gathered up all the infos about Jake. But nothing seems to dig up. "Does he even socialize?" I furrowed. "Seems the only friend he got was Dave and Jerry."

"No families?" Jones asked.

"He has of course but what I mean is, he doesn't have a social life." I said.

"Well for a guy like him. He must have drowned himself all over the games, it must be his reality." Jones waved. "We have to talk to his friend Dave. Maybe he knows better." He said and I nodded. "I'll drive this time." I grinned.

"Be my guest." He ushered me outside.

"Hmmm." Jones hummed as he read Dave Birch's profile.

"What?" I asked, eyes focus on the road.

"Dave's sister, Anna was once Jake's girlfriend. But a year ago, Anna died." Jones said.

"Ouch." I remarked. Jones raised his brows nodding.

We stopped by the front of a bungalo house where Dave Birch lives. And it seems he's not there. We tried several knocks and ring the bell but no one answered.

"Excuse me. Who are you?" A man called.

"Mr. Dave Birch?" Jones showed his badge. "GPD. We're here to ask you a few questions."

"What is this about?" He came up towards the door.

"It's about Jake Stuart. We're sorry to tell you, that he was found dead this morning." I said.

The man halted. He raised his head and glared into space for a moment. He blinked. "What?" He shook his head.

"He's dead. He died from a heart attack and allergy." I added. Dave furrowed.

"So an accident." He said.

"Could be. But also, could be a murder." Jones said.

"Then why and how it is to be a murder when you said he died from a heart attack?" Dave asked.

"You're his friend why does it look like you didn't care about this stuff." I furrowed.

"We're not that close." He said.

"Doesn't it? Maybe you don't like him as your brother in law." Jones snorted. Dave glared. "Your sister..."

"My sister doesn't have to do with this! She's dead!" Dave shouted.

"Mr. Birch calm down. I'm sorry for my partner's rudeness... But we just want..."

"Enough! You already barged in my personal life and you want more from me?!" He said and shut the door.

I glared back to Jones. He shrugged. "What?"

"Nice try making our suspect angry." I said with a deadpan eyes.

"That means he has a motive. The way he speaks about Jake's death. He seems not interested. He's angry about his sister's death." Jones explained.

"I know! But could you just be more polite when interrogating." I rolled my eyes.

He grinned and we head back to HQ.

"Hey Alex." I greeted. "Yeap, Ma'am?" Alex raised his head.

"Can you track down the card's code, we could find out where our guy have bought it." I said.

"No problem. This won't take long." He smiled.

I head back to my, checking some evidence we found. The laptop might help. I turned it on. "Did you find somethin?" Jones peered in.

"Not yet. I was about to check his laptop." I said as a pop up window appeared. Asking for a password.

"Just a piece of cake for you." Jones noted.

"What if I can't decode the password?" I waved.

"Nah. Trust your instinct. I know you can do it." He grinned.

I sighed and let out my tech side, I take the hacking device that I've got from Alex and decoded the password. After several tries, the code got correctly.

"Clever!" I said.

"You really are brilliant Silvers." Jones noted.

I rolled my eyes, and began to check the recent files and histories. All I found was gaming history. Dungeons and Dragons?

"I bet he's a big fan." I noted. "Hmmm. Most played game is Dungeons and Dragons." Jones said.

I check the game and logged in the account. "Woah! He's been active for almost a day! Everyday!" I furrowed in amazement.

"Hey guys!" Alex peered in. We turned to him. "The card was bought on the Ginny's Gift Shop near the Industrial Area.

"Great! We could check out their surveillance later." Jones said.

"Hey! Is that DD?" Alex pointed out.

"Yeah." I snorted.

"Your victim is a big fan?" He raised his brow.

"Yes? Is Lord Raegbond sounds familiar to you?" I asked Alex.

Alex pursed his lip. "I don't think I can? I've met a lot of users in the game." He wondered.

"What server did he usually played?"

I clicked the servers menu and lists popped out. "He played on server 7 last week. But he usually played in server 5." I said clicking the channel.

The lists of the users gathered up in screen. It was like hundreds of them. "Oh golly! How could we track this down?" I glared.

"Maybe I could jot down the users he usually played with? It'll took some time but I can do it." Alex grinned.

"Nice! Okay, you can start to work with that." Jones said. I handed the laptop to Alex.

"We also might need to trace the fingerprint of that card. Maybe we find something." Jones added.

"Good idea." I nodded.

Ashley was there, working on a forensic evidence when we get to the lab. "How's the first week training?" I greeted. She smiled. "Amazing!" she giggled. "You're looking for Grace?"

"Yes, we want to trace some fingerprint from this card." I said.

"Ha there goes the Silvers sisters. How does it feel to be in the team Ashley?" Jones entered.

"I'm so glad to be with here. At least I get to check out my sister." Ashley said.

"Hey if you're thinking to chat along my work desk, that could never happen." I cocked my head.

"I never said that I would go to your desk every moment to check on you, I just want to be in the team, also I want to help out, making sure you're safe." She grinned.

"Aww, you're sweet kid Ashley." Jones commented.

"You think?!" Ashley giggled.

"Okay, enough of chit chat, where's your boss?" I said.

"She's just over there, she's checking out the evidences we're working on." She pointed out the other room.

"Okay, Thanks." I said heading towards the room.

"There you are!" I said as I was about to enter the room, Grace passed by. "What can I do for you Keirah?" She smiled.

"Can you trace the fingerprints of this card. You'll gonna find our prints other than the victim but we're hoping to find a print from the killer."

"Sure can do. I'll call once I'm done." She grinned.

"Thank you Grace." I said.

Ginny's Gift Shop was like a small mini mart across the road. "Good afternoon, Sr, Ma'am how can I help you?" A cashier named Lily according to her tag, greeted us. We smiled in return As Jones introduce ourselves and our purpose. "Jones that's the card." I pointed out on one of the stalls. He nodded. "Yeah, that's it."

"We just want to ask a few questions. Is your manager here?" He asked the cashier.

"I'm the manager." She smiled. "The cashier has her leave for today. What can I do for you, Officers?" She asked.

"We want to ask for a copy of your transaction receipts. Someone involved in the murder bought a card from you." I said.

"We also would like to check the footage of your camera." Jones added.

"I would love to, but the camera on that corner got broke two weeks ago. I called for a technician to work on it but they still haven't been here." Lily said.

Jones shook his head. "But can we at least, have the video tape of the surveillance?" He asked.

"Okay. But can you at least come back tomorrow? It's getting busy and I don't have time, especially I'm the only one working for today." She said.

"We like to Ma'am but, we can't wait til tomorrow. This is urgent." I said.

"This is a murder investigation, and it is very helpful if you cooperate. Please." I said, knowing that she would make another excuse.

She sighed. "I hope you know that this will affect my business." She rushed to the entrance and flip the sign to close the store. She ushered us to the personnel room. She started to work on the transaction copies. "From when would you want to take a copy?" She asked.

"Three weeks until today." I said. She nodded and return to work. Jones looked around and looked at the monitors for the surveillance. There were two cameras in the store and one outside. Though one of them is blank. "The surveillance was open 24 hours right?" He asked.

"Yes." Lily answered. "Can we get the record of those three surveillances?" He asked.

"Okay." She proceed to work on the tapes after.

My phone suddenly ring. "Yeap?" I answered.

"Bad news Silvers." Grace on the line said. "I haven't found anything, just the victim's print and some of yours. "Oh Great." I sighed. "Nyway. Thanks Grace."

Lily finished to gather the records when I came back. "Judging your face, something seems wrong." Jones noted.

"We have our murder weapon but it doesn't contain any clues!" I complained. "This is absurd."

"That's really absurd." He pursed his lips.

"Nyway. Thanks for all your help Lily, stick around." He bid.

We head back to HQ downhearted. I sit back to my desk and review the victim's profile. "Silvers!" Jones called.

"Anna died from a suicide, no reason was stated on the file, but I got a feeling it has something to do with Jake's death. Jake and Anna had been together for a year, Last March, she attempted a suicide." He explained. "Interesting."

"Dave will never want to open up those things... It will be hard for him." I said.

"That's why he's our prime suspect. Dave has a motive to kill Jake." Jones waved.

"We have to go and let Dave talk." I furrowed.

"Alex. How's it going?" Jones asked.

"I excluded down the list of the users and I've found that there are five user who he usually interacts in the game." Alex handed over the lists.

"Good, we'll get back to this one later. Keirah. Let's go talk to Dave first." Jones said.

"Wait..." I turned back to Alex. "Could you jot down the date when the card was bought, check out the code, it could be here." I handed him the transaction receipts that we got from the store.

"No problem." He salute.

"This better be good." Jones said as we approached the door. He knocked several time before it opened.

"You again! Did I tell not to..." Dave blabberred.

"Mr. Birch, if you insist to not cooperate on the investigation, we're gonna have to hold you." I said.

"If you don't want to press charges against you, then better tell us." Jones said.

"I don't do anything." Dave spatted.

"Oh, yeah, consider the fact that you're drunk. Obviously we could smell the whiskey. Is it your kind of perfume now?" I said.

"Look. I have nothing to do against this crap!" Dave said.

"You call this a crap! The victim's your friend and you're okay with that?!" I glared.

"You're very angry at him. You're angry because your sister died because of him. Is he the reason of her suicide?" Jones frankly said.

Dave stared. "You dare talking about my sister! You don't know anything!"

"That is why we came here to clear it out. If you didn't kill Jake then prove it." Jones snickered on what I've said. I glared at him. You're making this harder Jones!

"We happen to read your files and it seems that your relationship with Jake is not how you told us. Please, tell us." I said. "We would like to hear the truth from you."

Dave chilled down, he blinked. "Anna loved him." He sighed. "But I hate the Jerk. I only talked to him because of my sister. I never liked him. Even if we talk much or hang out."

"Why?" Jones asked.

"He's no future. I told Anna that... Anna and Jake were schoolmates, Jake was once a computer nerd. He took computer engineer. He knows every software. But he changed." Dave continued. "Jake was building a business but an accident wiped it out. A fire caught up all his belongings. All that he worked for burned out. Eventually, he tried to take another step. But his mother got cancer, and all his savings are gone. He also got debts and later, his mother died. The only person who cares for him. The only person who supports his dream..."

"Where's his father?" We asked.

"His father never loved him, his parents are divorced since he was in gradeschool. He had a dream once. But he changed after all of that. And his relationship to Anna wasn't going well. After his mother died, Anna kept comforting him. Hoping he would change back, but he didn't. It even affects Anna's job and friends. Then I started to tell to dump that guy." He said.

"What's the reason of Anna's suicide?"

"Him. She couldn't bear anymore from him. And that Jerk! He didn't even care when Anna died." He furrowed. He tried to tell more but he began to hyperventilate. He rubbed his chest.

"Mr. Birch?" We asked.

"I need to take my pill." He pointed but he can't move.

"Panic attack!" I stated and Jones rushed in and finds his medicine cabinet. I helped Dave sit down on the couch. "Nevrax! Please." Dave said.

Jones grabbed the pill and handed it to Dave. I gave him a glass of water and he drank it, he slowly calmed down.

"You've been taking a pill for how long?" Jones asked.

"For a year now. I've been in a theraphy since Anna died. My aunt helped me, I was so depressed that time. It still hurts, remembering all what happened." He said.

I brought him a glass of water and put it on the center table. I noticed a game installer and surprise to find out that it's also the same game that Jake was playing.

"You and Jake have something in common." I said. He looked back.

"He insist me to play that game. After that, we played it often. I tried to forgive him, but it still hurts. This game was the only way we could hang out without seeing each other and it's fine for me."

"We understand you. How are you feeling?"

"Fine..."

"Nice collections you got there." Jones noted the tapestry hunged across the wall.

Dave smiled. "It was from our mother. She loved it. It was made by our ancestors. Mother is scandinavian. Our grandma used to tell stories about that." He said.

"Like bed time stories. You had interesting childhood." Jones grinned.

I took a closer look on the tapestry. It was fine woven. I saw an emblem, maybe their family symbol.

"Who did the tapestry?" I asked.

"My great great great grandmother." Dave snorted.

"Yeah." Jones chuckled. I raised my brow.

"Well, is it okay if we leave you. If you need help just call us." I said and he nodded.

"Look." He said and we turned. "I know that I'm too angry with Jake, but he's still a friend. I wouldn't do such thing to him." He said.

We just nodded, smiled and take our leave.

"Do you think he tells the truth?" I said, buckling up.

"I doubt it. He seems to look someone I couldn't trust." Jones answered.

"Hey guys, wanna check out the video?" Alex announced. "I've gather the remaining footage based on the transaction receipt. The date was last week so I took the footage and tried to recover it. Sadly I found nothing on any of the video. I tried to check every customer that came up but I failed to see any similar card that bought." He played the video and he's right.

"Wow, first, no prints, now, broken video!" I complained. Jones let out a huge sigh.

For a moment there was a silence. I put my hands inside my pocket and felt something. I pull it out. Oh. Yes, this is the list of the user that Jake have been playing to. I stared at it for a moment.

"These users are our suspects right?" I said, the two stared.

"Yeah. I think?" Jones said.

"It could be that one of them is our killer." I looked at them. They both gave an exchange look.

"You're right, but how can we find them?" Jones asked.

"That's a good question." I smiled. "We play the game."

"Oh!" Jones snapped his fingers.

"Awesome!" Alex said.

"Wait you'll gonna track down the killer by playing the game?" Jones cleared out and I nodded.

"I can't wait! I've been waiting for this for a long time Keirah!" Alex clapped.

"Jones you have to join us." I grinned. "We'll teach you."

"Hmmm, okay, for a change." Jones nodded.

"I need to refresh my memory." I groaned.

Alex took some time to teach Jones but good thing, Jones is a fast learner.

"We're gonna start the game later. According to the list you've gathered. Jake was playing from 12am to 4am." I raised my brow. "Night owl." I stated.

"If that's the case, see later at the Dungeons guys." Alex said.

"Hey keep me on the state, I'm still learning." Jones said.

"Don't worry you can do it." I grinned patiing his shoulder.

And so, the gathering of heroes begin. I was downstairs on the livingroom, I don't wanna wake Ashley up by my muttering and blabbering.

We joined the server 5. "Are you ready guys?" I checked my mic and headphones. "We're on." Jones and Alex noted. I could see their characters. Alex' character was a warrior and Jones was a Wizard? "Jones nice pick of a character." I teased. "Hey I want to be a magician when I was kid, and wizards are just the same right." He said.

"Right." I rolled my eyes. "Very childish." I muttered.

"Hey I heard that." He said. "Not to mention, your character was too skinny for a battle." He noted. "She's just like you." He laughed.

"That's an archer. She may be small but she's a baddass. I swear Jones if only you're not in our team, you'll gonna get something!" I said. Alex laughed so hard at our conversation.

"I'm enjoying this. So off we go." He said.

The game allowed only 3 players in a certain team. The goal is to protect the fortress and find a gem on Dragon's cave. You have to defeat the other teams as you go to the quest. Only five groups were allowed in each quest. And maximum of 5 players in each group. So you have to defeat five different groups as you complete the mission.

There also trolls that could encounter on the journey. They are the ditractions in the game, mostly they manage to use out your powers and health.

"Follow me guys. I know where to find a great route, away from the Trolls." Alex said.

Our player ran through the forest when something struck behind us. "Jones! Shield!" I yell and the Wizard built a force field around the players. Shielded from attack. My archer took off an arrow and struck a spell. The attackers finally showed. There were also three of them. And those guys are on the list. I struck off the arrow and burst of Ice and wind struck each of the characters. The warrior then attacked them while they're still in the hang. "Jones use your spellbinding. It will stop their attacks." Alex said.

The archer keep on shooting. Two of them was also a wizard and one is a warrior. Jones' wizard struck the spell to the attackers, once they've halted we shoot them. But the two wizards uses a power to remove the bind.

"They're good." I noted.

"Consider the fact that they're playing with Jake. They are." Alex added.

"Back me up guys, I'll try to use the frost wind." I said. It'll take long for the shot to take effect. It was the final shot and the group was lost.

"We did it!" I squealed.

"DON'T EVER THINK YOU HAD IT. YOU WIN FOR NOW, BUT I'M GONNA GET YA, I'M GONNA MAKE YOUR LIFE MISERABLE!" A voice from the other group said. It was a deep voice. It was the user named Saelborn.

"Uh oh!" Jones snickered.

"That's intense huh." Alex noted.

"I'M GONNA FIND YOU, AND TEAR YOU INTO PIECES!" the voice added.

"That's it, we have to tell them." I said.

"THIS IS GRIMSBOROUGH POLICE. SHOW YOURSELF." I called.

There was a pause for a moment. Then a window popped out. We saw a kid.

"Saelborn?" I furrowed. We began to show ourselves in the camera.

The kid though seems confused. "So... You're a Police?" He stuttered.

"Yes." I said. "You happen to know Lord Raegbond?"

He nodded. "Is it true that he's dead?"

"Yes. What's your name?" Jones asked.

"Henry." The kid replied.

"Did you kill Jake?"

"JONES?!" That's a bit of a straight forward Jones!

"No!" The kid furrowed. "I will never gonna do that!"

"You threaten us." Jones said.

"It's just in the game. We sometimes do that. Raegbond knew it."

"Besides, I'm here in Dublin."

"Dublin?!" We said in unison.

"You'll see." The kid then moved the screen and showed the window. We saw the city lights and scrapers.

"So. Are you going to arrest me?" The kid asked, stuttered.

I just stared in space. I felt so embarrassed.

"No... If you listen to me." Jones said.

The kid furrowed.

"Close this computer now and go to bed. You stayed up all night. You should be sleeping."

"You sound like my mother."

"Listen to me or I'm gonna contact your mother!" Wow Jones could be a strict parent.

"Alright! Alright..."

Few more games we had played but we never find anything from our suspects.

"We stay up all night for nothing!" I complained as I heard Jones chuckled on the line.

"There's still one suspect we haven't see." Jones said. "But I doubt that they will have what we need."

"The last time they logged in was the right before Jake died." I checked on Jakes game histories and found out that the time was just 15 mins. before he died.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence." I told myself.

"What coincidence?" Jones heard that.

"Oh. The time. I checked the time that this Dark Rune user was logged in. Finds out that the last time he logged in was right before Jake died... And he never played until now. Unlike the other players on the list. They're very consistent on their schedule."

I sighed. "What do you think?" Jones noticed my stress.

"I want to sleep." I plopped back to sofa.

"You're right. We need to sleep. We have to work it out tomorrow." He said.

"Yeah. See you..." I hung up.

Downhearted, I slip down to the sofa. But I suddenly realize, I kinda miss the game. I held on to my thoughts for moments not noticing I drifted down to sleep.

"Keirah! Wake up!" Ashley keeps on shaking me. I furrowed as I hardly open my eyes. "How many times do I have to wake you?"

"I'm going to work now. I don't want to be late. Speaking of late. You're late." She crossed her arms.

"What?" I checked the time on the phone and it was already 8am. Blast it! I quickly got up from the sofa. Yes, I didn't even slept on my bed last night.

"I gotta run Sis" Ashley cocked her head.

"Yes. See you around." I shouted upstairs.

"Hey Jones, sorry I'm gonna be late. Don't worry I'll be there in an hour!" I left a message and quickly head to the shower.

"There you are! First time to be late." Jones teased.

"I had a rough night." I said as if we didn't know what happened last night.

"Don't worry I'm late too." He noted. I looked at him. "Just 30 mins. late." He said in defensive mode.

"I'm not saying anything." I said.

"Yeah. Like you're not thinking it."

"Ok fine, let's get to work." I said.

"Officers! Mind telling me why are you late?" Chief King peered in.

We gazed at him. Waiting, who will be the one to speak.

"Uhhh. Sir we're working the case up all night." Jones rubbed his nape.

"Really? So you found out the Killer yet?" Chief King asked.

"Not yet Sir. We haven't found something on our suspects either." I said.

"That's bad... You have to dig deeper. I think you should head back to crime scenes and search for another clue. I'm waiting for your report after this week." He said.

"What now." I turned back to Jones.

"We should get back to the crime scene. Hopefully we'll find the answer." Jones said.

We do as he said. We came back to Jake's apartment. We searched the area entirely again. Checking for something we missed. I dig up to the trash bin. All I found was receipts and beer cans. But also some pieces of papers. The papers looked like cover. Also a note.

"You found something?" Jones came in.

"I guess." I furrowed. "Tear the paper to pieces as you opened this." I read.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jones furrowed.

"Weird, you can't just tell someone to tear the wrap if they want to?" I wondered.

I put down the pieces on the table and tried to piece it back.

"Way to go." Jones commented.

"There you go." I said as I finished putting up the last piece. It was a cover or likely a wrap. Same size as the card.

"Hopefully we can dig up some fingerprints from our killer." Jones noted as I do the work.

We head back to the lab for Grace to inspect the prints

"Hey Guys!" Grace came.

"So?" We turned waiting for an answer.

She sighed. I did find the owner of the prints but sadly it wasn't fro your killer. It was from your victim."

Jones banged his hand on the table.

"Great scott!" I muttered. I came towards Grace and took the evidence. I stared at for a moment, scanning every details of the cover as my mind played in thoughts. When somethings hits my view.

"We have to get back to Dave..." Jones said.

"Maybe we really should." I said as I looked through a lens.

Jones came in. "What did you got?"

I turned up grinning. "Answer!" I showed him what I found. An emblem.

He smiled. "That's what we're looking for."

We found Dave working on his motorcycle. "Dave Birch. We would like you to come with us." Jones said.

Dave frowned. "Why? I told you I have nothing to do with Jakes death."

"We have evidence..." I said.

He glared like he wanted me to prove I'm right.

"The cover of the card that Jake received. We found it. We also found a symbol resembles to your family emblem."

His face turned pale. "That isn't..."

"Yes it is!" Jones grab the cuffs and placed it on his wrist.

At the interrogation room Dave seems quiet. He doesn't like to talk.

"We could do this everyday you know." I told him.

"We have our time!" Jones said with sarcasm.

Dave let out a huge sigh. "He had it coming." he said.

"Few months after Anna died. He contacted me. He knew how angry I am. I don't want to see him." He said.

"So I made a plan. I played Dungeons to make him believe I'm okay now. He feels more at ease and even more like open to me. I know that he has allergy to nuts. I wanted to make a prank on him, or maybe just wanted to make him suffer to revenge my sister's death. So I send a friendly card containing nuts. Then that killed him." He let out a slight smirk.

"You do know that killing Jake won't bring back your sister. Avenging her is not the answer. Do you even think she will like it?" I said.

He looked at us. "It was worth it."

Jones sighed. He placed the cuffs on Dave and exited the room...

The court seems silent as Judge Hall announced the sentence against Dave. Dave yet seems to be calm. He knows this would come and he accpet it. He'll be jailed for years.

"I can't believe Dave would do such thing." Jerry said after the trial. "He is a nice guy."

"He might be." I said as we lead him outside.

"Maybe because Jake hurt him so much he didn't mean to do it." Jerry said. "Did he?"

Jones and I glared at the boy. This kid seems clever.

"Yes, Jake did hurt him so much." Jones cracked the silence. "But it doesn't mean you should hurt other people too, Kid." He added.

"But would you just let other people hurt you while you do nothing?" Jerry asked.

That question surprised us, thinking it came from a kid.

"My mom got killed by a thief. Now I'm with my Grandma. The Cops though caught the thief, but still, it didn't get my Mom back." He looked down.

I sighed and patted the boy's back. "Jerry... I'm sorry for your loss." I said.

"You know. You might be right about not letting the people hurt you or others but that doesn't mean you'll do things that would end up a bad result... What I'm saying is, even if you avenge by killing the one who did bad things to you it wouldn't bring back the things you love. You shouldn't let bad things change you into a bad person Jerry. And maybe that is why the world is full of bad things."

The looked at me. I hope he understands what I said, maybe for a ten year-old boy, he seems a bright kid.

"Mom told me like that once when she was alive." He smiled. "She said even other people do bad things, I should do what is right."

I smiled. "Yes! That's what I mean." Then I gave him a hug.

"This is why we're here kid. The Cops will handle the bad people." Jones said, rubbing the boy's head. "Let's get you home, shall we."

City lights lit up the we arrived back to the Kid's apartment.

I stared through the street, still thinking what Jerry said. Truth is, he made me realise something. What I told him should reflect to me. I admit, I also wanted to retaliate the people who had killed my parents. But what's the cause? Will it change back the time? I know I'll never get back my parents no matter what I do. Do those guys even still alive?

"Keirah to earth?" Jones cracked. I blinked and turned to him. "You seem in a deep thought. I can't even dive down." He joked.

I chuckled. "It's nothing. It's just that, that Kid made me realise something."

"He is? He is a clever one." Jones said. "What is it?"

"I keep telling everyone that avenge is not the answer to what happened to their love ones. When bad things happen, it's like you wanted the whole world to disappear, resulting some actions you shouldn't be doing..."

"But I realise that's what I'm doing."

"You are?" Jones furrowed. "You're not."

"I wanted to chase down the guys who killed my parents, even it was just an accident." I said.

"You wanted to chase them for justice, not to kill them." He said.

"Yes, maybe. But what if I'm wrong. I could have leave what happened in the past but I can't forget what they did. So if chances happened, will I have the temper to just see them in jail. Or will I push a trigger to let them feel the pain?"

Jones was quiet, his eyes focused on the road. But I know he's listening.

"No, you will not... I won't let you do that." I saw a slight grin he made. "Also, how come a good, decent cop like would do that?"

I laughed. "Really. You know me. I can even kill you when I wanted to."

"Ah there you are." He said. Relieved to hear me laughing. "Yes, I know, but you never commit. You know why?"

I furrowed and he looked at me for a second. "Because you're an honorable person." He smiled.

I blushed. Good thing his focused on the road. "Too good to be ture Jones. Okay, enough the praises. I'll treat you."

"I'm telling the truth!" He chuckled. "You don't believe me. Whatever. But I like the treat thing. So where would you like me to treat?" His grin widened.

"Whatever!" I rolled my eyes as we drove through the city.

 **A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry for a long delay. I'm gonna tell you this. A lot of things happened. My Dad has weakened because of his cancer. He's been fighting it for five years and came at rest just this Dec. 19. It is really a sad moment but we must go on. This life isn't not the way it should be. So keep going.**

 **Sorry if this chapter just finished, it should have finished a long time ago. I know there will be some mistake you might see in this chapter since I didn't proofread it. So sorry.**

 **I also remember, when I'm making one of the chapter of my story ( I can't remember if this is it or the other fanfic) A friend also passed. He also was just like my Dad. And still misses him.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews and support. Keep in touch. The next chapter may be a long time to upload too. I hope you can bear with it.**

 **Stay safe.**


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